Sona, the credit hedge fund founded by former Highbridge Capital head European credit, John Aylward, has appointed Barclays PLC’s co-head of global leveraged finance syndicate Stephen Smith, to the newly-created role of head of capital markets, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites a spokesperson for the firm as confirming that Smith is set to join Sona in London and is expected to take up his new position around September.

According to Aylward, Smith: “brings a wealth of experience in the European Leveraged Finance markets and will deepen and broaden Sona’s existing capabilities in a market offering tremendous opportunities for investors”.

Despite challenging macro conditions, Sona's Europe-focused Credit Master fund has continued to grow seeing a 10% increase in year-to-date in 2023, following a surge of 25% in 2022, according to Bloomberg sources.

Sona started trading in 2016 with $300 million managed exclusively for Paloma Partners, but now manages around $4.5 billion in assets having opened to external investors.