Easterly Clear Ocean Named Product Innovation Winner at the 2026 Asset Management STAR Awards North America

Distinction recognizes ECO for bringing the return potential of an essential but historically opaque industry to institutional portfolios

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Easterly Clear Ocean (“ECO”), a maritime investment platform and Strategic Partner of Easterly Asset Management, today announced that it has been named the Boutique Winner for Product Innovation/New Product Development in Alternatives at the Asset Management STAR Awards North America 2026.ⁱ

Shipping moves nearly 90% of global trade,ⁱⁱ yet maritime has been difficult for institutions to invest in directly, with access historically depending on relationships forged over generations. The award underscores how ECO has turned one of the world’s most essential industries into a truly investable asset class.

“Maritime has always offered compelling fundamentals, yet traditional Western allocators have struggled to capture its full economics,” said Darrell Crate, Founder and Managing Principal of Easterly Asset Management. “At Easterly Clear Ocean, we built the scaffolding this fragmented market long lacked to be institutionally investable. The Easterly playbook is to innovate to bring investors curated solutions designed to make their portfolios better.”

The results have been tangible. ECO’s inaugural fund, ECO I, achieved the highest DPI among 2021-vintage buyout and infrastructure funds, while ECO II and III rank in the top quartile for DPI among buyout and infrastructure funds in their respective vintages, according to Preqin.ⁱⁱⁱ

Behind those results is ECO’s unique investment approach. The team controls which vessels to buy, how to put them to work and when to sell, supported by deep market knowledge, in-house operating expertise and capital raised in advance so ECO can move quickly when opportunities arise.

“Like the Greek and Norwegian shipping families that have run their fleets this way for generations, we make every key decision ourselves, from buying a ship to operating it to selling it,” said Jake Scott, Chief Operating Officer of Easterly Clear Ocean. “Our team brings four decades of maritime experience to each of those decisions.”

Together, these capabilities are designed to offer investors potential attractive cash returns, diversification beyond traditional markets,^iv and exposure to high-quality real assets.

“Volatile markets have many investors looking for new sources of return and potential protection against inflation,” said Phil Juliano Jr., Head of Sales at Easterly Asset Management. “We believe maritime fits that need. Ships are real, income-producing assets tied to global trade, and an aging global fleet with limited new shipbuilding is creating opportunities for experienced operators.”

The Asset Management STAR Awards North Americaⁱ were developed in partnership with the Investment Management Education Alliance and are powered by the industry expertise of FT Live, Ignites and FundFire. A panel of industry experts evaluates entries on their results, innovation, execution and impact.

ECO has deployed nearly $400 million across ECO I through IV as of June 30, 2026 and is currently raising capital for ECO Fleet Holdings V.*

To learn more about Easterly Clear Ocean, visit our website.

About Easterly Asset Management

Easterly Asset Management and its Strategic Partners provide private wealth and institutional investors with a portfolio of solutions across private markets, active equity and active fixed income. Founded in 2019, Easterly’s goal is to bring curated solutions to clients that make their portfolios better by partnering with trusted investment teams who have an established track record of delivering value to investors. Easterly enables high-performing managers to operate at scale by delivering best-in-class resources, risk management, operational support, infrastructure and an institutional and wealth distribution team. For more information, visit easterlyam.com.

About Easterly Clear Ocean

Founded in 2021 as a partnership between Easterly Asset Management and Clear Ocean Partners, Easterly Clear Ocean provides investors direct access to the opaque international shipping markets. The company was formed to capitalize on supply and demand imbalances across various maritime subsectors. The asset class aims to provide investors with a diversified, non-correlating, yield-oriented vehicle offering income and capital returns. Given the broad maritime marketplace, Easterly Clear Ocean expects to opportunistically deploy capital across maritime sub-sectors, identifying attractive entry points driven by historically low order books, capital intensive requirements for new builds, and expanding ton-mile demand. For more information, visit institutional.easterlyam.com/investment/easterly-clear-ocean.

About the Asset Management STAR Awards North America 2026

The Asset Management STAR Awards North America, developed in partnership with the Investment Management Education Alliance and powered by the industry expertise of FT Live, Ignites and FundFire, celebrate outstanding achievement across the institutional and retail investment management sectors, as well as the service providers supporting the industry. Building on IMEA’s nearly 30-year STAR Awards legacy, the program recognizes excellence across thought leadership, marketing, product innovation, investor engagement, sales performance, leadership, strategic partnerships and community impact.

Securities offered through Easterly Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Not a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell securities of any investment fund; any such offering will be made to qualified investors only by means of definitive offering documents and related subscription materials, the “Offering Documents,” which contain significant additional information about the terms and risks of the investment. For accredited or institutional investors only. There can be no assurance that the investment objective will be achieved. The investment is speculative, illiquid, high-risk, and investors may lose all of their investment.

All performance metrics are estimates based on currently available information and are subject to change upon finalization. Performance metrics are presented net of fees, expenses and carried interest unless otherwise indicated.

ⁱ Asset Management STAR Awards Award Methodology: The Asset Management STAR Awards North America are open to asset managers and service providers operating in or serving clients in North America with at least three years of operating history in the region during the eligibility period of March 2025 through March 2026. Entries were evaluated within relevant peer groupings, with categories segmented by asset class, investment strategy and firm size. Applicants submitted a description of the initiative’s objective, specific goals and outcomes delivered, along with supporting evidence such as performance metrics, innovation details, client outcomes or relevant KPIs. Entries were judged by a panel of investment management leaders with expertise in marketing, communications, digital platforms, user experience, education, and content development and distribution, as well as other industry experts, on Performance & Results, Innovation & Creativity, Strategy & Execution, and Engagement & Impact. This award was announced on October 19, 2026 and is not indicative of future performance. Easterly Clear Ocean did not pay a submission fee.

ⁱⁱ International Maritime Organization, statement on the Sustainable Development Goals, sdgs.un.org.

ⁱⁱⁱ Preqin benchmark data as of October 19, 2026. ECO I reflects 183 global buyout funds and 51 global infrastructure funds with a 2021 vintage year. ECO II reflects 160 global buyout funds and 58 global infrastructure funds with a 2022 vintage year. ECO III reflects 170 global buyout funds and 68 global infrastructure funds with a 2023 vintage year. Vintage year is defined as the first year of investment or drawdown. All metrics for ECO I are based on fully realized fund exit as of July 2026, ECO II and III are derived from reported and estimated fund-level performance information as of June 2026 and may be subject to revision. Performance metrics are presented net of fees, expenses and carried interest unless otherwise indicated. DPI represents cumulative distributions to paid-in capital. Comparisons are shown for illustrative purposes only and may not represent an exact match in strategy, investment focus, geographic exposure, fund size, structure or timing of cash flows.

^iv Diversification does not ensure a profit nor protect against loss in any market.