Pramerica Fixed Income Management today named George Passaris a managing director and product manager for its alternative investments business in Europe.

Passaris, based in London, will be responsible for overseeing European alternatives product management, working with the firm’s investor base and with investment banks to originate, manage and market new structured products on behalf of institutional clients.

Before joining Pramerica, Passaris was a senior banker in the collateralized debt obligation group at Bear Stearns, responsible for originating and structuring collateralized loan obligations and CDOs, in the European markets, along with developing and executing a variety of structured credit transactions.

“We are delighted to have him join us as we look for innovative ways to meet the growing needs that European institutions have for alternatives strategies and solutions,” said Peter Cordrey, head of Pramerica’s alternative product business, which includes its hedging strategies and collateralized debt obligation platform.

Pramerica, fixed income asset management business of Prudential Financial had $213 billion in assets under management as of the end of March and offers both traditional and alternative fixed income strategies, with an emphasis on credit-related strategies. The firm currently manages about $927 million in its hedge platform.