Fewer managers collecting more of the capital  Private credit vehicles seeking capital fell from the record level reached in the first half of 2017. The number of private debt funds raising money has fallen slightly from a record number at the middle of last year but it remains strong; as of 31 March, there were…

Moving up in the real estate world The total raised for senior debt so far in 2018 signifies a jump from previous years. The growth in real estate debt is just one of the many story lines in the expansion of private credit, and senior debt in that sub-strategy seems to be having its moment…

The decline of global distress?  Investors are flocking to North America, particularly for distressed debt; the geography made up an outsized portion of the total capital raised for the strategy in the first quarter. The fundraising pendulum may be swinging back to North America, as we wrote several weeks ago, and that shift is particularly…

Two market views Managers may be putting resources and strategies behind a bearish view of the market. Senior debt and distressed debt fundraising totals were neck and neck in the first quarter, according to PDI fundraising data. Private debt funds closed on $37.1 billion in the first quarter, and those targeting the top of the…

North America: Centre of the fundraising world again Vehicles investing around the world raised more money, but North America is ascendant. Private debt is homing back to North America, potentially bringing an even greater influx of capital to the birthplace of the world’s largest private debt market. North America-centric vehicles were seeking $84.42 billion at…

Does size matter? Ask managers, and they’ll say yes. The rush toward credit continues; as the asset class keeps growing, the average fund size has grown with it. In the first quarter of the year, the average private debt fund size stood at $1.25 billion, larger than last year’s four-quarter average of $1.02 billion and…

No one ever got fired for buying IBM Investors appear to be adopting a ‘safety first’ approach as a decreasing number of managers benefit from continuing appetite for private debt. Excuse the rudimentary math, but if you take the total number of managers which closed private debt funds in the first quarter (28) and multiply…

Debt dynasty In a competitive atmosphere, LPs seem to like their GPs well enough that four-fifths would commit to a successor fund if the right chance presents itself. Despite the plethora of upstart private credit managers that have rolled out in recent years, it is still better to be an incumbent fund manager than a…

Let’s get real Plenty of firms lend against cash flows. Isn’t it better to lend against something you can see and touch? Fundraising for real estate as an asset class is falling. But fundraising for real estate debt is increasing, according to data from Private Debt Investor sister publication PERE. You can see it in…

Thirst for yield overshadows other concerns Worries over market valuations are being suppressed by investors still keen to embrace the private credit and private equity markets. In our limited partner survey conducted recently, North American respondents told Private Debt Investor their biggest macroeconomic concern was “extreme market valuations”. On a scale of 1-5, investors registered…