Marathon Asset Management, a global credit investment manager, announced the closure of its first fund solely dedicated to aviation leasing, the Marathon Aviation Fund. The new strategy, which was oversubscribed, will focus on leasing the most in-demand early- to mid-life aircraft, and providing investors with returns that have low correlation to other asset classes.

"Continuous rapid growth in global passenger air travel that is outpacing airlines' order capabilities, along with the aging of global fleets and airlines' increasing preference for leasing new, fuel-efficient planes, is creating a compelling opportunity in the aircraft leasing sector," said Andrew Springer, Partner and head of Structured Credit at Marathon Asset Management. "We believe our strategy of buying commercial aircraft with triple-net leases and financing from leading partners will provide a highly attractive alternative to traditional fixed income investments."

Andrew Rabinowitz, President, Chief Operating Officer and President of Marathon Asset Management, added: "Since 2005, we have had a solid track record of delivering strong returns in aircraft leasing and given this experience and Marathon's sourcing capabilities and active pipeline we were well positioned to successfully launch our dedicated aircraft fund. Building on our track record in this sector, our strategy is designed to deliver attractive, uncorrelated cash flow-driven returns by focusing on aircraft that are in high-demand and critical to our lessees' businesses."

Marathon's experienced and dedicated aviation team is comprised of seven professionals, four aircraft leasing investment professionals, two high-yield airline credit investment professionals and internal legal counsel.