(Bloomberg) -- Michael A. Snyder a managing director at MacKay Shields LLC who previously ran the global high-yield investment group at AllianceBernstein, has died. He was 55.

He died Tuesday from a heart attack during a run while on vacation in Florida, according to his son, Ian Snyder.

Snyder was a New York-based senior portfolio manager for the high-yield unit at MacKay Shields where he helped manage more than $23 billion in leveraged loan investments and high-yield bonds, according to his LinkedIn profile. The investment advisory firm manages $107 billion in assets, according to its website.

“The consummate professional, Michael was a terrific partner and his sharp mind, analytical rigor and deep commitment to the high yield team, the firm and our clients will be greatly missed,” Jeffrey Phlegar, chief executive officer at Mackay Shields, said in a statement. “He touched all of us with his humanitarian spirit and pleasant demeanor and leaves a lasting positive impact on the lives of many.”

Prior to joining MacKay in 2006, Synder was director of the global high-yield group at AllianceBernstein and held similar posts at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Bear Stearns. He got his start in the industry at Prudential Capital in 1987.

‘Great Investor’

“Mike was a great investor but an even better person,” Gershon Distenfeld, co-head of fixed income at AllianceBernstein, said in a phone interview. “During the time we worked together, he taught me so much about markets but even more about life and how to live it with purpose and meaning.”

Born and raised near Philadelphia, Snyder was passionate about exercise and especially the Philadelphia Eagles football team. He completed his undergraduate studies at Dickinson College, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1985. Two years later, he earned an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

He was a board member at the Wake Forest University School of Business and Neenah Enterprises Inc., an industrial manufacturer located in Neenah, Wisconsin.

Snyder is survived by his wife, Barbara, and four children: Erik, Cole, Ian, and Julia. A funeral will be held on Monday, March 18 at 12 p.m. at the Jewish Center of Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey.

--With assistance from Rachel Evans.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sebastian Pellejero in New York at spellejero@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft at ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net, Steven Gittelson, Adam Cataldo

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