Direct lending still the preferred choice In a much-changed world, investors are inclined to support well-established strategies and geographies. As the saying goes: the more things change, the more they stay the same. While the volatile inflationary and interest rate environment has created very different conditions for private debt firms to navigate, provisional data from…

The rise of the periphery Specialty finance is grabbing the limelight by offering strong returns, downside protection and diversification. With many investors having reached a level of exposure to direct lending that they are comfortable with, it’s natural that they should then begin casting around for more esoteric opportunities. One area claiming attention is specialty…

The return of the mid-market With the focus having been on larger deals last year, 2024 has seen more typical private debt activity make a comeback. After a rocky two years, mid-market M&A activity looks set to finally rebound and lenders are reporting a bullish first half of the year. With interest rates hopefully on…

‘Grace period’ on road to net zero Private debt has new guidelines as it seeks credibility in its response to climate change. The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change – formed in 2001 as a forum for collaboration between pension funds and asset managers on climate change issues – has published the first net-zero guidelines…

The syndicated fightback As expected, the BSL market is retaking some of the ground lost to direct lending for larger deals. A recent research note from Alcentra contained some interesting reflections arising from the broadly syndicated loan fightback against direct lending in the larger loan arena…. Login to Read More...

Arguments for the middle way A new report examines themes in the mid-market and finds optimism growing as investors seek to diversify. It has undeniably been a challenging few years for small and medium-sized businesses. But are the tides starting to turn? Recent data suggests earnings of mid-market firms are consistent with a consensus that…

The challenges of technology Private debt firms may need to make cutting-edge processes a higher priority. When talking about what makes their business tick, private markets managers are usually keen to emphasise their focus on building relationships, on skilled teams of staff and expertise in chosen verticals. While these are no doubt crucial to building…

Europe’s hot topics This week, we reflect on a few of the talking points from PDI’s recent Europe Summit 2024 in London. Are favoured sectors still good value?One panellist said the gradual retreat of covid brought with it the end of the honeymoon period for technology and life sciences, two sectors that had previously exploded…

Fundraising falls flat There’s been talk of a modest revival in capital raising this year, but the first quarter may have lowered expectations. After a difficult time on the fundraising trail in 2023 as limited partners suffered from the denominator effect and lack of distributions, private debt managers were looking forward to a more benign…

LPs keen to address under-allocations The latest version of PDI’s Investor Report shows many investors have a long way to go to reach target exposures in private debt – but the intent is there. Private debt, along with other alternative asset classes, found last year to be a tough one on the fundraising trail –…