Unlock Capital. Boost Returns.
Derivatives advisory for private credit, infrastructure, project finance, family offices, and asset managers running lean investment teams.
If you manage long-dated assets or complex cashflows, this work is built for you.
THE PROBLEM WITH MOST
DERIVATIVE OVERLAYS
Derivatives are powerful when designed properly.
In most lean investment teams, they aren’t.
They’re shaped by bank sales desks, not end-to-end derivatives practitioners accountable for outcomes.
The result isn’t protection. It’s drag.
- Mismatched tenors
- Optics-driven hedge objectives
- Weak pricing discipline
- Idle collateral
- No framework to adapt as markets change
We redesign FX, rates, credit, equity, and volatility overlays aligned to how your portfolio behaves – not how it’s presented.
We operate across the full derivatives lifecycle – design, pricing, execution, governance, and ongoing management.
Think of us as your Portfolio Surgeon™ – diagnosing where derivatives leak value and applying precision fixes that restore capital efficiency and performance.
Who This is For
We work with lean investment teams managing complex, long-dated portfolios where derivatives, capital structure, and execution discipline materially affect outcomes over time.
Private Credit
Capital-efficient FX and rates hedges aligned to long-dated loans and funding constraints.
Infrastructure
Portfolio-level overlays across diversified operating assets to improve resilience, capital efficiency, and lifecycle outcomes.
Project Finance
Deal-specific FX, rates, and funding hedges aligned to construction risk, drawdown profiles, and long-term financing structures.
Asset Managers
Governance-ready hedges, capital efficiency audits, and retained structuring capability that scales with the portfolio.
Family Offices
Institutional-grade hedging, pricing, and structuring without building a full derivatives desk.
HOW WE ENGAGE
A structured process with clear decision points.
This process is designed to qualify real mandates and avoid premature proposals.
Diagnostic Review
A 60-minute working session focused on your portfolio and operating constraints.
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Short pre-call questionnaire on real issues
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Live diagnostic to determine whether structural inefficiencies justify a rebuild intervention
This is a diagnostic, not a pitch.
Diagnostic Findings
A written summary of the material observations from the diagnostic.
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Where capital is constrained or misallocated
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What’s driving performance drag over time
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Which issues materially affect outcomes
This ensures alignment on the problem before discussing next steps.
Engagement Direction
Where appropriate, a potential direction forward is outlined.
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Priority areas to address
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How those areas would be scoped, sequenced, and phased over time
This step is used to confirm intent before any formal engagement is considered.
Fee & Structure Alignment
If there is alignment on direction, commercial terms are discussed directly.
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Engagement structure and delivery mechanics
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Fee construction logic
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Payment structure
Formal engagement documents are issued only after this alignment.
Engagement & Execution
Once aligned, execution begins.
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Engagement Letter and Scope of Services
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Mutual NDA
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Execution Plan with delivery phases and decision points
Work commences only after documentation is complete.
A structured diagnostic review to assess fit and feasibility before any engagement.
PROVEN RESULTS
Delivered Discreetly
We do not publish client logos or testimonials.
Our work is evidenced through anonymised case studies showing what changed, why it mattered, and the outcomes delivered.
Insurer – USD 7bn derivatives transition
Redesigned and transitioned a multi-asset derivatives book to a direct dealer execution model.
The transition materially reduced lifecycle friction, improved pricing discipline, and strengthened governance across execution, margining, and ongoing risk management.
Infrastructure Investment – 20-Year Lifecycle De-Risking
Redesigned FX, rates, and equity overlays for a long-dated emerging-market energy investment.
The hedge framework was aligned to construction, operating cashflows, and exit dynamics, materially improving resilience, capital efficiency, and risk control over the full project lifecycle.
Global Macro Hedge Fund – Trading & Risk Infrastructure Rebuild
Redesigned the fund’s trading, risk, and execution stack from the ground up to institutional standards.
The redesign reduced execution costs, tightened volatility control, and created a scalable operating model that supported a USD 400 million increase in AUM and more consistent performance across market cycles.
Capital & Collateral Efficiency Rebuild
Redesigned margin, collateral, and funding structures across a derivatives portfolio to release trapped liquidity.
The work freed approximately USD 150 million of collateral, reduced funding drag, and restored balance-sheet flexibility for redeployment.
Additional anonymised client outcomes and case studies available below
Where Derivative drag shows up
Most problems fall into a few clear categories.
Where you start depends on what’s causing the biggest drag.
Derivative Portfolio Review
If you’re not sure where the problem is, this is a decision-grade diagnosis, not an implementation engagement.
A targeted review of derivative overlays, capital usage, and governance to identify where value is leaking and prioritise intervention.
The review is a structured, paid engagement designed to determine whether a Hedge Rebuild or Capital Efficiency Rebuild is warranted.
Execution is scoped separately.
Hedge Rebuild – Eliminate Structural Hedge Drag
Outcome
Lower long-term hedge cost. Fewer rolls. Lower operational frictions. Economics defined upfront. Capital freed for redeployment.
Problem
FX, rates, credit, equity, or volatility hedges are either outdated or never correctly designed, eroding performance through misaligned tenors, weak pricing discipline, and unmanaged lifecycle risk.
Intervention
Design or rebuild hedge overlays to align cashflows, hedge objectives, execution discipline, and lifecycle management across the life of the hedge.
Capital Efficiency Rebuild – Release trapped capital
Outcome
Improved capital efficiency. Lower liquidity and funding drag. Capital released for redeployment.
Problem
Capital inefficiency is usually structural – driven either by legacy frameworks that were never revisited or by early design decisions that locked in liquidity, margin, and funding assumptions too soon.
Intervention
Actively redesign and intervene in collateral, margin, funding, and legal frameworks – including CSA renegotiation, ISDA architecture, margin mechanics, and collateral transformation structures – so capital becomes deployable again, not just compliant.
This is not an assessment exercise. It is a structural rebuild of how capital is margined, funded, and governed throughout the portfolio’s lifecycle.
Structuring-as-a-Service – Institutional derivatives capability without adding headcount
Outcome
Institutional-grade capability without internal build-out. Better pricing. Structures that hold up through market cycles.
Many clients engage Structuring-as-a-Service after completing a Hedge Rebuild or Capital Efficiency Rebuild, when it becomes clear that without retained, in-house derivatives capability, execution quality, governance, and outcomes cannot be sustained.
Problem
Lean teams lack retained end-to-end derivatives capability. Pricing is opaque, and structures drift over time.
Intervention
Embedded senior derivatives expertise covering design, pricing, execution, governance, lifecycle management, and capital efficiency.
Pre-Crisis Playbook
Predefined hedge, monetisation, and execution strategies built before stress hits – so decisions are fast, disciplined, and controlled.
Governance Pack
Decision-ready templates and oversight frameworks that eliminate IC and board bottlenecks without weakening governance.
Bespoke Advisory
Precision work for complex derivatives, multi-asset structures, and internal platform design where standard approaches break down.
Who this is not for
Para Bellum Advisors is not a fit if:
- You want pre-packaged, off-the-shelf solutions without questioning whether they actually fit your portfolio
- You prioritise the cheapest or most familiar hedge over one that behaves correctly over its full lifecycle
- You’re unwilling to have existing structures, policies, or governance reviewed and, where necessary, redesigned
- You prefer to preserve legacy processes even when they create ongoing capital drag or hidden risk
- You want advice without clear accountability for implementation or outcomes
We work with simple instruments and standard markets when they are fit for purpose. What we don’t do is apply them by default, without thought, or without ownership of the result.
This work is for teams who care about how structures behave over time, not just how they price on day one.
Book a Diagnostic
We don’t send decks without context.
The Diagnostic is a focused working session to surface the real issues, cut through noise, and map a clear path forward.
Every month of delay locks in lost returns.
The Portfolio Surgeon™ for institutional portfolios