NIR Group, an alternative investment firm, has appointed David Ratzker as portfolio manager to head the firm's structured equity investments.

NIR Group, an alternative investment firm, has appointed David Ratzker as portfolio manager to head the firm's structured equity investments.

Ratzker will be responsible for overseeing a portfolio of equity investments in publicly traded companies. He reports to Corey Ribotsky, managing member and head portfolio manager of the NIR Group.

'With Bank of America recently raising over 13 billion though a similar structure, it is clear that this is the best environment for this strategy that I have seen in 15 years,' says Ribotsky. 'David is uniquely qualified and we are confident he will identify attractive investment opportunities.'

'I'm excited to join a pioneer in the direct investment space and I look forward to contributing to the firm's continued success,' says Ratzker.

Other public companies that have recently raised equity through these structures include PNC Suntrust, Zions Bancorp, DryShips and AMR.

Ratzker was most recently at Yorkville Advisors where he structured more than USD300m worth of private equity transactions for publicly traded corporations in a variety of sectors including energy, clean-technology and telecommunications.

Ratzker is a member of the Finance Committee at the American Council on Renewable Energy and received his Bachelor of Science from Yeshiva University.