Margate Asset Management was founded in September 2025 by Rick Taormina, Kit Wood, and Yuri Khalif to redefine standards in fixed income management. With decades of experience in the institutional Fixed Income market, the founders identified a clear gap in how portfolios are constructed, traded, and delivered to clients. Margate Asset was created to address these inefficiencies—realigning incentives, increasing transparency, and reshaping the industry’s pricing model to better serve investors. The result is a client-focused platform designed to deliver improved outcomes and a more consistent investment experience.
Grounded in experience, integrity, and transparency, Margate Asset provides institutional-quality Fixed Income portfolio management at fair and competitive pricing. The firm’s mission is straightforward: to prioritize client results over profits by combining disciplined investment management with thoughtful, high-touch service.
Drawing on more than a century of combined experience in Fixed Income asset management, the Margate Asset team brings deep market insight, strong credit research capabilities, and a disciplined approach to risk. The result is a modern Fixed Income asset management firm — independent, focused, and built to meet the evolving needs of today’s Registered Investment Advisors, Family Offices, and institutional investors.
Over their long tenures at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Flat Rock Global, Hilltop, Vanguard, TCW, and other leading institutions, the Margate Asset founding team repeatedly transformed Fixed Income platforms from the inside—launching first-of-their-kind strategies, restructuring trading systems, and building some of the largest and highest-performing Fixed Income franchises in the U.S.
But across the industry, challenges persisted:
Misaligned incentives
Lack of transparency in pricing
Inconsistent execution quality
Limited access to institutional-grade tools
Benchmarks that fail to reflect client-specific needs
Margate Asset Management was created to solve these issues from the ground up.
We have designed a modern, independent Fixed Income asset management firm built around client outcomes—not product distribution or corporate mandates.
We leverage deep dealer relationships, advanced market intelligence, and decades of high-volume trading experience to secure better pricing, tighter spreads, and superior liquidity. Every trade is executed with the rigor of an institutional desk—because execution quality directly impacts client returns.
No two clients share the same tax profile or risk objectives. We design each portfolio around the client’s specific needs—structure, duration, credit preferences, and cash flow considerations—rather than relying on generic templates or benchmark replication.
Our process combines traditional credit analysis with sophisticated quantitative models refined over decades. These tools help optimize yield, identify inefficiencies, structure tax-efficient trades, and assess risk across multiple market scenarios.
Trust is built on transparency. We eliminate hidden layers of cost and align our incentives with client outcomes. Our pricing model is designed to be fair, competitive, and straightforward—ensuring clients keep more of their return.
We apply disciplined sector allocation, continuous credit surveillance, stress testing, and scenario analysis to safeguard portfolios. Our founders have navigated multiple market crises—including 2008, 2020, and major rate cycles—shaping a risk management culture built for resilience.
We believe in accessibility, communication, and partnership. Clients and advisors benefit from direct interaction with senior investment professionals, ongoing portfolio updates, and thoughtful guidance tailored to their long-term goals.
Our founders not only built and scaled large Municipal platforms, but they also innovated in trading, strategy design, and tax-aware investing. This gives Margate Asset a unique blend of institutional muscle + entrepreneurial agility.
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Based in Wilmington, DE
Rick Taormina is the Co-Founder and CEO of Margate Asset Management, bringing nearly three decades of industry-leading experience in municipal and tax-aware fixed income investing. Prior to establishing Margate, Rick served as a Managing Director at JPMorgan from 2005 to 2024, where he led the firm’s Tax Aware Strategies team and was a central member of the Global Macro group within the Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities division.
Rick managed municipal ETFs, mutual funds, separate accounts, insurance mandates, and institutional portfolios—consistently delivering top-quartile performance across major categories. He launched JPMorgan’s first municipal ETFs (JMST and JMUB) and holds more #1 Lipper and Morningstar yearly performance rankings in municipal mutual funds and ETFs (1997–2024) than any other JPMorgan manager.
His leadership played a pivotal role in redesigning JPMorgan’s municipal platform—spanning benchmarks, strategy frameworks, and integrated platforms post-merger. Rick collaborated on industry-first initiatives with Bloomberg and major dealers to streamline municipal trade execution through electronic point-and-click platforms.
Rick holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Delaware, an MBA in Finance from Wilmington College, and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
He has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and industry panels, and has been involved in federal-level discussions during major market events, including 2008 and 2020.
Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Based in Charlotte, NC
Kit Wood is the Co-Founder of Margate Asset Management, with more than 30 years of leadership experience across the municipal and fixed income markets. Before Margate, he served as Senior Managing Director at Hilltop Securities Holdings, where he oversaw the firm’s Asset Management business representing more than $20 billion in AUM and AUA, alongside Post-Issuance Compliance operations.
At Wells Fargo Securities (previously Wachovia), Kit was Managing Director and Head of Institutional Municipal Sales. Under his leadership, secondary trading revenue grew from $5 million to $100 million annually, and the firm’s primary market ranking rose from #14 to #5 nationally. Kit has built long-standing relationships across the top 250 municipal asset managers, RIAs, ETF sponsors, wealth platforms, and alternative managers.
Earlier in his career, Kit co-led JPMorgan Asset Management’s Municipal division with Mr. Taormina, overseeing more than $50 billion in assets across funds, ETFs, SMAs, and institutional programs—delivering consistent top-quartile results.
Kit holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and maintains FINRA Series 7, 63, 53, 24, 50, and 66 licenses.
Co-Founder & Head of Capital Markets
Co-Founder & Head of Capital Markets
Based in New York, NY
Yuri Khalif is the Co-Founder and Head of Capital Markets at Margate Asset Management. He leads the firm’s national distribution strategy, advisor engagement, and RIA/Family Office relationships across the United States.
Before co-founding Margate, Yuri served as Partner and Managing Director at Flat Rock Global, helping grow the firm’s AUM from approximately $150 million to more than $1.4 billion. His career also includes senior roles at TCW, Hatteras Funds, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Deutsche Asset Management, Miller Anderson & Sherrerd (Morgan Stanley), and SEI.
Yuri brings more than 30 years of experience across traditional and alternative investments, with unique expertise in business development, client coverage, and product strategy. He holds an MBA in Marketing and a BBA in Financial & International Business from Temple University.
Fixed Income investors deserve better.
Better execution.
Better transparency.
Better alignment with their goals.
Margate Asset Management exists to deliver that.
We combine institutional experience, innovative tools, and a client-first pricing model to set a new standard for fixed income management.
We partner with:
Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs)
Family Offices
High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Investors
Trusts, Foundations & Nonprofits
Insurance Platforms
Institutional Fixed Income Allocators
Our focus is singular: help advisors and institutions deliver improved after-tax outcomes—consistently, transparently, and efficiently.
Integrity: We operate honestly, ethically, and with full transparency.
Alignment: Our success is tightly linked to client outcomes.
Discipline: Our investment process is repeatable, rigorous, and risk-aware.
Partnership: We work closely with clients, advisors, and institutions to build long-term relationships.
