Anthony Maniscalco, the former head of alternative asset management within Barclays’ financial institutions investment banking division, has joined Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM), Blackstone’s hedge fund solutions business.

He will be a managing director on BAAM’s investment team, focusing his efforts with Greg Hall and other senior team members on building out its platform to purchase ownership interests in hedge fund businesses.

Hall says: “It is a great time for BAAM to focus on investing in leading alternative investment firms. Hedge funds continue to gain market share within the asset management industry, founder-owners are focusing on equity values and succession planning, and there is little opportunistic capital to underwrite and purchase these ownership interests.”

In his previous position at Barclays, Maniscalco was responsible for overseeing banking relationships with over 50 asset managers. At BAAM, he will be a part of the senior management team responsible for Blackstone’s overall hedge fund solutions business.

“At Blackstone, we have worked with Anthony in his capacity as an investment banker at Barclays. We have been very impressed by his intelligence, integrity, creativity and work ethic. Anthony will be a major asset to our senior management team,” says J Tomilson Hill, vice chairman of Blackstone and president and CEO of BAAM. “We are also very grateful for our partnership with Barclays, and we expect this important relationship to grow with our addition of Anthony.”

During 2011, BAAM assembled a team, under the leadership of Greg Geiling, to invest in special situations across a broad array of asset classes. Geiling was previously a portfolio manager at Duquesne Capital.

“BAAM has nearly doubled its team since 2007, and we are planning a significant increase in professional headcount in 2013. We have also doubled our partner group in the last year, adding six new partners,” says Hill. “Our business is providing investment solutions that meet the needs of our investors. We cannot meet these needs without the most talented investment, risk, due diligence and operational personnel.”