Polen Capital Credit

John Sherman leads Polen Capital Credit as Head of the platform. He joined Polen Capital in 2022 after serving in senior credit roles at KKR and Goldman Sachs, where he focused on direct lending and structured credit. The credit team operates with dedicated portfolio managers and analysts, drawing on the broader research resources of Polen Capital's equity platform.

The team originates loans directly rather than relying on syndicated markets. Its sourcing network includes private equity sponsors, intermediaries, and the firm's own equity-side relationships with management teams. Because Polen's equity analysts cover many of the same industries, the credit team often sees deals early, giving it an origination advantage over lenders without sector-specialist colleagues.

The platform concentrates on directly originated, senior-secured first-lien loans. It does not act primarily as a fund-of-funds investor allocating to other credit managers. Its mandate includes direct lending, opportunistic credit, and structured solutions, all sourced and underwritten by the internal team.

It targets U.S. middle-market companies generating between $10 million and $75 million in EBITDA. The borrower profile is typically a sponsor-backed or founder-owned business in defensive, cash-generative industries. Loan structures emphasize seniority, tight covenants, and negotiated documentation protections.

The firm has not published a formal exclusion list, but its credit underwriting favors companies with predictable cash flows and strong market positions. Highly cyclical industries, early-stage venture-backed companies with no earnings, and businesses heavily dependent on commodity prices are generally not a fit for the senior-lending mandate. The emphasis is on defensive sectors where Polen's equity research teams have long-standing expertise.

Polen Capital Credit is a division within Polen Capital, a global investment manager founded in 1979 and headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The credit platform shares infrastructure, compliance, and distribution resources with the firm's established growth equity strategies. It operates with a dedicated investment team led by John Sherman, while reporting to CEO Stan Moss.

Polen Capital is an employee-owned firm, which aligns incentives between the investment teams and clients. Governance is centralized under the holding company, with each platform head — including John Sherman for credit — sitting on the firm's leadership team. The firm has a formal succession plan documented via its employee-ownership model, though specific credit-team succession details are not publicly disclosed.