Alternative credit manager Sound Point Capital Management has hired a three-person investment team from South African investment manager Ninety One, as part of a partnership.

The partnership between Sound Point and Ninety One aims to support the completion of the Ninety One European Credit Opportunities Fund 1 and expand Sound Point’s European private credit offering.

Read more: Arcmont’s CIO: US pullback a fresh boost for European credit

Chris Rust and Lei Lei have been appointed portfolio managers and co-heads of European secured lending. They have more than two decades experience in European opportunistic and distressed credit, and M&A advisory. Prior to Ninety One, they both worked at Oak Hill Advisors.

Meanwhile, Lachlan Viney has been appointed director and senior analyst. All three are based in London and will report to Russell Holliday, Ninety One’s head of Europe.

“Chris and Lei have spent their careers underwriting complex European credit through multiple cycles, and they bring a rare combination of deep origination relationships and structuring discipline,” said Russell Holliday, Ninety One’s head of Europe. “European asset-backed lending outside the sponsor channel is one of the most attractive and difficult to access parts of the market today, and a natural complement to our existing capabilities,” he added.

Read more: Sound Point unveils multi-asset credit interval fund

The team will focus on directly originated, asset-backed lending to European borrowers outside the traditional sponsor channel. The strategy builds on Sound Point’s US capabilities across capital solutions, direct lending, and specialty finance, adding asset-backed lending to its European private credit offering.

“We were looking for a platform with meaningful scale in credit, genuine structuring capabilities, and the conviction to fully support a European asset-backed strategy,” said Rust and Lei in a joint statement.

Sound Point has over $44bn (£32.9bn) in assets under management and its strategies span the spectrum of liquid and illiquid credit alternatives and include funds and managed accounts focused on leveraged loans, special situations, distressed debt, structured credit, direct lending, and commercial real estate.