J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced the expansion of its private credit platform and appointment of Vincent Lu and Brian Van Elslander as co-heads of the newly formed Global Performing Credit group. Mr. Lu and Mr. Van Elslander bring extensive experience in private credit and private equity sponsor coverage to the roles (full bios included below). The two new hires report to Meg McClellan, Head of Private Credit at J.P. Morgan Private Capital.

Global Performing Credit will initially target opportunities in the direct lending segment, with plans to expand into other private credit strategies in the future. The new group will benefit from the scale and resources of J.P. Morgan’s $168 billion Global Alternatives platform and its 50-plus year track record across alternative investments including private credit, private equity, real estate, hedge funds, infrastructure, transportation and liquid alternatives.

“With central bank liquidity at historic highs and interest rates remaining low, investors continue to search for sources of yield and downside protection,” said Meg McClellan, Head of Private Credit, J.P. Morgan Private Capital. “Global Performing Credit will harness our deep experience in alternative investing and differentiated sourcing capabilities to capitalize on the significant opportunities in direct lending, which have been amplified by current market dynamics.”

“We see significant investment opportunity in private credit, and Vince and Brian’s depth of experience in sourcing, investing and managing capital in direct lending and other private credit strategies will prove invaluable to the Global Performing Credit platform,” said Brian Carlin, CEO, J.P. Morgan Private Capital. “Direct lending markets are growing rapidly, and our team is well-equipped to provide valuable investment expertise and unique opportunities to investors by leveraging the sourcing capabilities and credit expertise across JPMorgan Chase.”

Vincent Lu joins J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives with more than 20 years of private credit experience, most recently serving as co-head of Private Strategies at Wells Fargo Asset Management. Prior to that, Mr. Lu spent 18 years at Blackstone / GSO Capital Partners in private credit and was involved in the firm’s performing credit (direct lending and mezzanine) and stressed / distressed investing funds.

Mr. Lu earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science from Duke University, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa scholar, and a master’s degree in business administration from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania where he was a Palmer Scholar.

Brian Van Elslander previously served as co-head of Private Strategies at Wells Fargo Asset Management. Prior to this, Mr. Van Elslander spent more than 10 years as managing director and head of the Financial Sponsors Group at Wells Fargo Securities. He maintained balance sheet responsibility for the Financial Sponsors Group loan portfolio and dually served as group head within the firm’s Corporate Banking division. During this time, he also served on the Investment Banking and Capital Markets Operating Committee.

Earlier in his career, he was a managing director of the Financial Sponsors Group at Credit Suisse and a Vice President at J.P. Morgan in the leveraged finance and high yield capital markets groups.

Mr. Van Elslander earned a bachelor’s degree, with Honors, from Michigan State University, and a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he was a Wallman Scholar.