Our Team
Meet Jason Bernstein
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Member
Jason Bernstein is the Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Member of Asterisk Capital, where he oversees the firm’s strategic initiatives across private credit, special situations, and complex capital structures. With over two decades of experience in high-yield and distressed markets, Jason serves as the firm’s primary conduit to the market—leveraging an extensive network of investors, operators, and counterparties to unlock opportunity and drive outcomes.
Before launching Asterisk, Jason was a Managing Director at Cantor Fitzgerald, where he led efforts in high-yield and distressed special situations. His career spans key roles at firms such as:
Cantor Fitzgerald – Led high-yield and distressed special situations
Odeon Capital – Focused on high-yield special situations
Quattro Global Capital – Analyst at convertible arbitrage hedge fund
Imperial Capital – TMT sector research analyst
SoundView Technology Group – Equity research analyst
Jason is known for his practical, results-driven approach and his deep connectivity within the private credit and restructuring ecosystem. He plays a hands-on role in origination, structuring, and execution—serving as a key point of contact for clients and partners alike.
Our Team
Meet Mark Levin
Co-Founder, President, and Managing Member
Mark Levin is Co-Founder, President, and Managing Member of Asterisk Capital, where he leads the firm’s structuring and investment strategy. Known for his deep credit expertise and analytical rigor, Mark is the architect behind Asterisk’s complex deal execution—bringing decades of experience across high-yield, distressed, and special situations investing.
Before co-founding Asterisk Capital, Mark spent over 30 years in credit markets, hedge fund management, and investment banking. He was a founding partner and longtime Managing Director at Imperial Capital, where he served as Director of Research and later established and led the firm's Desk Research platform. Prior to that, he held senior research and portfolio roles at top-tier firms, including:
Asterisk Advisors – Credit-focused investment and research platform
Odeon Capital – Managing Director, High Yield Special Situations
Summation Capital – Founder and Managing Member of a credit-focused hedge fund
Imperial Capital - Founding Partner and Managing Director
Canyon Partners – Director of Research, High Yield & Restructuring
Drexel Burnham Lambert – Vice President, High Yield and Distressed Analyst
First Capital Holdings – High Yield Research Analyst
Rockwell International – Thermodynamics Engineer, Aerospace Division (holds U.S. Patent No. 4,776,536)
In addition to his investment work, Mark is a guest lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where he shares his insights on stressed and distressed investing, credit markets and investment strategy with MBA students.
