Orecchio to Head Up ABN AMRO Team –

ABN AMRO‘s private investment group got a little bigger last month with the addition of John Orecchio as managing director and portfolio manager of its private equity funds investment group.

Orecchio, who was most recently a managing director of the private equity funds investment group at BankAmerica Capital Corp., will be recruiting a team of professionals for a new fund-of-funds business at ABN AMRO. “Historically, ABN AMRO has primarily managed a fund-of-funds on behalf of one pension fund,” he said. “And with my hiring I’m going to be charged with building out a team and then really going out and building the fund-of-funds business beyond that one client to a larger base.”

The group will be targeting the bank’s assets management and private banking client base as investors for the new fund, which is expected to be in the market during the second quarter of next year.

Orecchio said he plans to add two more partner-level professionals, one with traditional private equity investing experience – who can enhance the team’s track record and contacts – and another who will coordinate the vehicle’s marketing efforts.

The move to ABN AMRO is a welcome one for Orecchio who is excited to set up a stand-alone fund-of-funds business that will invest without an investment banking modus operandi. The response from meetings with people on the assets management and private banking side of the business is what really intrigued Orecchio. “There’s a lot of institutional interest and momentum in having this product offered to the client base.”

He was also drawn to the size of the institution, especially its reach into Europe. “It’s a real interesting place to build up this kind of business,” said Orecchio.

At the top of the agenda for Orecchio are kicking off the recruiting process, getting up to speed on ABN AMRO’s existing portfolio and clients, and working internally on strategies for marketing the new vehicle to its potential client base.