In private credit, the character of your deal sourcing determines the destiny of your portfolio. How new transactions come in the door, and how you choose the best ones to close, drive your performance. Nothing else matters.
As we’ve learned in this series, private credit developed from the core middle market (CMM) (see Chart of the Week). This set the principles that became popular with issuers and investors alike: loans to small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in diverse, defensive sectors backed by private equity sponsors with conservative terms and structures...
Quote of the Week
“Credit continues to fulfill its strategic objectives of income generation, diversification, and moderate risk while remaining within guidelines.” – Jonathan Grabel, chief investment officer, Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Reuters).
Featuring Charts
Chart of the Week: Ex Uno, Plures
Unlike the US, private credit began as one entity and morphed into many states. Source: Apollo Outlook For Public and Private Markets (April 2026)
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Chart of the Week: Different Strokes
Core and LMM portfolio overlap has remained relatively stable over the past decade. Source: Company filings and Raymond James research
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Chart of the Week: Leverage Takeover
Middle market buyout financings increasingly dominated by direct lenders. Source: LSEG LPC. Middle Market LBO volume.
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Chart of the Week: Perception is Reality
Investors bombarded with scary headlines worrying less about real private credit risks. Source: PitchBook
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Chart of the Week: The IT Factor
IT deals commanded a larger piece of the M&A pie in 2025. Source: PitchBook
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Chart of the Week: Leading the Way
The US was a relative bright spot in global private equity fundraising in 2025. Source: Preqin, McKinsey analysis
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Features
Octus: Private Credit & Deal Origination Insights – 4/13/2026
BDC Holders by Portfolio Company Octus analyzed 27 stressed securities across 23 borrowers and found that fair value pricing varied by as much as 40 points between the lowest and highest marks… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...
Bloomberg: Leveraged Lending Insights – 4/13/2026
US Leveraged Loan Launches Remain Muted Amid Wider Uncertainty Click here to access Bloomberg’s US Leveraged Finance Chartbook The US leveraged loan market has struggled to regain momentum following a sharp slowdown in issuance in February, as market volatility continues to weigh on activity. This week has shown signs of improvement, as $9.4b has been…
PDI Picks – 4/13/2026
No sign of panic from institutions The likes of pensions and insurers are, if anything, accelerating their commitments to private credit – despite the retail redemption saga. The first quarter of 2026 was the most prolific Q1 for global private credit fundraising in the last five years according to our data, setting the stage for…
Middle Market & Private Credit – 4/13/2026
US Software Credit Opinions Vulnerable to EBITDA Stress; US MM CLOs Resilient Click here to learn more. U.S. technology software sector issuers in Fitch Ratings’ model-based, point-in-time credit opinion (MCO) portfolio are more vulnerable to credit deterioration under a severe earnings stress scenario compared with the portfolio excluding the technology software sector…. Subscribe to Read
The Pulse of Private Equity – 4/13/2026
HALO versus software as a share of PE deal value ($B) Download PitchBook’s Report here. The hottest debate in public markets right now is not whether AI will disrupt software but how much, how fast, and who is left standing…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...
Middle Market Deal Terms at a Glance
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Beginning in July 2022 The Lead Left published a series of articles on credit market. This report consolidates those articles.
Cov-lite trends Inflation & rising interest rates – LIBOR to SOFR transition Mega-tranche uni trend ESG takes center stage Login to view interactive report and download PDF version. … Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here Related posts: 2H 2021 Midyear Outlook Report State of the Capital Markets – Fourth Quarter 2016 Review and
Beginning in September 2021 The Lead Left published a series of articles on supply chain. This report consolidates those articles.
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