The Fund has been designed specifically in response to Japanese investor interest in the Valens investment strategy and it will provide qualified Japanese investors with access to a mirror image of the Laurus Offshore Fund, with minimal currency exchange risk. “Our yen denominated fund provides our Japanese investors with access to investments in U.S. micro cap and late stage private companies and makes their investments more stable for them, as they won’t be susceptible to the value of the dollar sinking or spiking at any time,” said Dennis Pollack, Partner and Senior Managing Director.

By; Kirsten Bischoff, Opalesque New York:

“I am truly pleased that Jay will be a part of our team. Jay’s background in both domestic and international investment banking will offer Laurus-Valens new insight and opportunities as we seek sound and profitable investments for our portfolio,” said Dennis Pollack.

Mr. Drezner will be responsible at a senior level for analyzing, structuring and executing new transactions as well as working with existing Laurus-Valens portfolio investments to maximize value and return potential. Prior to joining Laurus-Valens, Mr. Drezner spent nine years at Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, most recently as a director in the Leveraged Finance Group where he covered companies in the aerospace and defense, satellite services, and air transportation sectors and executed a broad variety of leveraged finance transactions.

Prior to moving to the Leveraged Finance Group, Mr. Drezner was in the Buyside Insights Group at Credit Suisse, where he worked with corporate clients in the consumer products, business services and mid-cap industrials space to enhance equity values through the use of value-based management consulting techniques. Other roles Mr. Drezner had at Credit Suisse included serving as a vice president in Credit Suisse’s Australian investment banking operation, covering media and telecommunications companies, and two years as an Associate in Credit Suisse’s New York office in the Media & Telecom coverage group. Mr. Drezner began his professional career in the early 1990’s with D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, Inc., an advertising agency, as an assistant media director handling major corporate consumer product clients. “I am thrilled to join Laurus-Valens and look forward to the challenges ahead. I am eager to work with such a knowledgeable and esteemed group of finance and investment professionals,” said Mr. Drezner.

Mr. Drezner holds a BA in Psychology from Cornell University and an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School.

These private transactions typically give the Laurus funds warrants for the right to purchase stock at a discount to market prices. The funds seek double digit returns with lower volatility than the broader markets.

Dennis Pollack, senior managing director of Laurus-Valens, said Thursday that veteran investment banker Kendall Raine has joined the firm as a partner and senior managing director.

“Kendall’s background will offer Laurus-Valens new insight and opportunities during this volatile time in the market,” said Pollack.

Raine, who will oversee a variety of strategic and capital markets initiatives, joins from A. G. Edwards, where he was managing director in the investment banking department. At A.G. Edwards, he was responsible for more than 100 advisory and capital markets transactions for business development, mortgage, and consumer finance companies, private equity firms and other specialty finance companies.

Prior to Edwards, Raine worked for Bear Stearns as associate director responsible for investment banking relationships with Midwest depository institutions. Before that, he was chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based United Pacific Bank and senior executive to the banks’ parent company.  Raine began his banking career as a calling officer in the Asia division of Chemical Bank.

Laurus-Valens, one of the nation’s largest investors in penny stocks, has approximately $1.7 billion in assets under management.  Laurus invests in private investment in public equity, or Pipes, a financing vehicle for small, cash-strapped companies. Hedge funds use Pipes to buy shares at a discounted price and can quickly resell them.

Last March, Laurus Capital Management LLC launched Valens Fund to invest in publicly traded small and micro-cap companies seeking cost effective growth capital.

By Natasha Gural, Editor