Terranova, MBF Clearing's former trading head and CNBC pundit, gets the nod. Investment manager Phoenix Investment Partners has hired former MBF Clearing Corp executive Joe Terranova to fill the newly-created role of chief alternatives strategist. He reports to Steve Neamtz, head of asset-management distribution at Phoenix Investment Partners.

As director of trading at New York-based MBF, Terranova was in charge of more than 300 traders and support staff. He oversaw the firm's trading operations during some dicey periods, including the first Gulf War, the 1998 Asian and Russian-default crises, the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., on 11 September 2001, and the collapse of Amaranth Advisors in 2006. He is also a frequent guest on CNBC 's Fast Money television program.

Game plan

"Joe Terranova is exactly the right person at the right time to enhance our continued expansion into the alternative investments space," says Neamtz. "We are delighted and honored to associate ourselves and our clients with a financial professional of Joe's caliber, integrity and knowledge."

Terranova says his "game plan" as head of alternative-investment strategies at Phoenix Investment Partners "is to utilize the sum total of my experience in the financial markets, as well as my risk management and portfolio design proficiency, to champion the effort of introducing clients to the diversification and portfolio enhancements Phoenix's alternative products provide."

Phoenix Investment Partners, part of Hartford, Conn.-based Phoenix Companies, offers a mix of investment products from 15 asset managers with expertise in alternative investments in addition to core investment strategies.

Phoenix plans to spin its money-management division off to shareholders this summer. -FWR

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