Different from the Tech-Centered U.S. Private Credit Market
Provides Stable Portfolio Diversification
Heightened Expectations for Partnership with Samsung Life Insurance;
Strengthening Efforts to Expand in Korea
European alternative investment manager Hayfin Capital Management held a press conference on the 1st in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and opened its Seoul office. From left to right, Lisa Lipsky, Head of Client Coverage at Hayfin, Si-jin Choi, Head of Hayfin Korea, and Carlos Falla, Head of Portfolio Management at Hayfin.
European private credit specialist asset manager Hayfin Capital Management is making a full-scale entry into the Korean market with the opening of its Seoul office. Unlike the artificial intelligence (AI)-centered U.S. market, Hayfin aims to invest across a range of industries in Europe to provide a stable and reliable private credit portfolio.
On October 1, Hayfin held a press conference at a hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, to announce this initiative. Founded in 2009, Hayfin is a European alternative investment manager with approximately 40 billion euros (about 62 trillion won) in assets under management (AUM). The company is headquartered in London and operates local offices in 13 countries around the world.
Hayfin is particularly recognized as a leader in credit strategies, with a focus on private credit. More than 95% of its total assets under management are allocated to credit-related investments. The company is also seen as a specialist in ship and maritime finance. Domestic institutional investors, including pension funds and insurance companies, have already invested about 1 billion euros, both directly and indirectly, in Hayfin. In fact, Samsung Life Insurance strengthened its strategic partnership in December last year by acquiring a 3.96% stake in Hayfin.
Hayfin emphasized that the European private credit market is fundamentally different from the U.S. market and allows for more stability and greater portfolio diversification. In Europe, unlike the United States, the technology and software sectors are relatively small, but Hayfin believes there is much more room to explore deeply in other industries.
Carlos Falla, Head of Portfolio Management at Hayfin, said, “Competition is fierce in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) lending and it is difficult to predict its future trajectory. For this reason, we are approaching the tech sector cautiously by keeping its share below 5% of our private credit portfolio. Instead, we are ensuring diversification by deeply engaging with less-publicized European industries and markets, building relationships, and executing loans within those sectors.”
Lisa Lipsky, Head of Client Coverage at Hayfin, emphasized that the partnership with Samsung Life Insurance is already producing results. She said, “Although it is still at an early stage, other institutional investors (LPs) are taking an interest in our investment platform as they see Samsung Life Insurance coming on board. We believe there is significant potential for further growth in the Korean market going forward.”
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The Seoul office will be led by Si-Jin Choi, Head of Hayfin Korea and Director of Partner Solutions. Choi previously worked at Wilshire Associates in Hong Kong, Samsung Life Insurance, and Samsung Asset Management, and served as Head of Private Equity for Asia-Pacific at UBS Asset Management.
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