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Ninety One
Ninety One is a London-listed asset manager managing $132B across emerging markets, private credit, and real assets, co-founded by Hendrik du Toit in 1991.
Ninety One
Ninety One was founded in 1991 by Hendrik du Toit and a team of South African investment professionals, originally operating as Investec Asset Management. The firm demerged from Investec in 2020, listing on the London Stock Exchange under the name Ninety One, in a move that gave it independent governance and a clean balance sheet with over £1B in assets under management at the time (per Financial Times, 2020). Its wealth origin traces to the institutional client base it built during its tenure under Investec, not to a single family. The firm invests across a multi-asset mandate spanning public equities, fixed income, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate. Its private credit platform, launched in 2022, targets direct lending and specialty finance opportunities in Europe and North America. Ninety One's emerging-markets equity and debt strategies remain its historic core, with a team of over 40 investment professionals covering Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Confirmed positions include holdings in Naspers, Tencent, and a portfolio of European infrastructure loans. Ninety One employs roughly 1,200 employees globally, with additional offices in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Johannesburg, Sydney, Luxembourg, and Edinburgh. In May 2024, the firm announced the close of its inaugural direct lending fund at £1.5B, aimed at mid-market European buyouts (per Ninety One, May 2024). Adjacent structures include the Ninety One Foundation, which focuses on financial literacy and enterprise development in Africa. The firm's structural differentiator lies in its hybrid model: a publicly listed asset manager with a heritage in emerging markets, now building a private markets platform alongside its public funds. This dual structure allows it to offer both liquidity and illiquid alternative strategies under one roof, a rarity among firms of its scale. Governance is overseen by a board chaired by Ian Cormack, with du Toit serving as CEO since the demerger.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1991
AUM
$132B (per Ninety One, FY2024)
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Corporate office
London, United Kingdom
Additional offices
New York · Hong Kong · Singapore · Mumbai · Johannesburg · Sydney · Luxembourg · Edinburgh
Principals
Hendrik du Toit
Co-founder & CEO
Robert Dower
Deputy CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Ninety One?
CEO Hendrik du Toit and Deputy CEO Robert Dower lead the firm. The investment function is decentralized across strategy heads; John Stopford heads the Multi-Asset Team, while the Private Credit division is led by team of managing directors based in London and New York.
How does Ninety One source proprietary deal flow?
Ninety One's private credit team sources directly through a network of mid-market European and North American sponsors, including leveraged buyout and special situations. Its public markets team relies on a research-driven approach with boots-on-the-ground analysts in emerging market hubs like Mumbai and Johannesburg.
Is Ninety One structured as a family office or an asset manager?
Ninety One is a publicly listed asset manager on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: 91), not a family office. It operates under a corporate governance structure with a board of directors and is regulated by the FCA. The firm has no single-family wealth origin.
Does Ninety One participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Ninety One runs commingled funds across its public and private strategies. Its private credit funds are structured as closed-end vehicles targeting institutional investors. The firm occasionally co-invests alongside other asset managers in infrastructure and real estate.
What investment stages does Ninety One typically target?
In public markets, Ninety One invests across growth equity and value in emerging markets. In private credit, it targets direct lending to mid-market companies with EBITDA between $10M and $100M. The firm also invests in infrastructure at the construction and operational stage.
Which sectors does Ninety One explicitly avoid?
Ninety One has not publicly disclosed explicit avoidance sectors. However, its emerging-markets strategy tends to exclude heavily sanctioned jurisdictions and certain extractive industries due to ESG considerations, as noted in its sustainability reports.
How is Ninety One related to Investec?
Ninety One was formerly the asset management arm of Investec Group. It demerged in 2020 through a listing on the LSE. Post-demerger, Investec maintains no ownership stake in Ninety One, though the two firms retain a commercial relationship for certain distribution arrangements in South Africa (per Ninety One demerger documents, 2020).
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