Payton Capital has appointed a head of credit to its ranks, representing a key step in its growth strategy as it builds out its private credit platform.
Michael Golinelli has taken up the newly created position, effective immediately, the investment manager confirmed.
According to Payton Capital, Golinelli’s appointment reflects its continued expansion following the acquisition by alternative asset manager HMC Capital that completed mid-last year.
The new head of credit will drive the firm’s strategy of bolstering its credit risk management capabilities as it looks to grow within the private credit sector.
In the role, Golinelli will lead all aspects of credit risk management, loan structuring, portfolio performance and credit strategy. Moreover, he will support the credit team in evaluating loans, optimising risk frameworks, and aligning credit strategies with Payton Capital’s overall business objectives.
Craig Schloeffel, co-head of Payton Capital, said Golinelli will be critical as the company strengthens its private credit platform with HMC Capital, which was first announced last May.
“The creation of this role is an integral part of our strategic plans as we build out our private credit platform under HMC Capital. Michael’s appointment will play a key role in enhancing and maintaining our credit risk management capabilities, which are fundamental to the success of our business,” Schloeffel explained.
“We are confident that Michael’s leadership will further strengthen our position in the market.”
Golinelli previously spent over a decade at ANZ in a variety of senior roles, both domestically throughout Australia and internationally in Singapore. Most recently, he was the bank’s head of lending services property, where he managed its real estate restructuring and workout teams across the country.
“I’m excited to be joining Payton Capital at such an important time of growth,” he remarked. “I look forward to contributing to the development of the private credit platform and working closely with the team to build and strengthen our credit risk capability.”
With more than $1.5 billion in assets under management (AUM), Payton Capital specialises in the Australian commercial real estate private debt market, and services domestic and offshore wholesale investors, family office and institutional investors.
Last November, the firm opened a new office in Western Australia and a second office in Queensland to boost its AUM.
HMC Capital also announced its financial results for the first half of FY25 last week, with its managing director and chief executive, David Di Pilla, expanding on the developments since the acquisition of Payton Capital.
“We intend to stay focused on the core of the residential mid-market real estate sector. We will potentially have the potential to increase ticket size over time to give us AUM velocity and expose us to better quality borrowers and counterparties,” Di Pilla said.
“The changes we’ve made to the business include: we’ve fully integrated Payton into our risk management framework, we’ve redeveloped the investment committee process, we’ve hired a head of credit from a domestic Aussie trading bank, and the legal and compliance function has been materially upgraded.”
