Direct lending is popular – and thus bucks the trend A new survey shows the strategy retaining a strong level of demand, while other areas of private debt lose their allure. They still can’t get enough. Ever since the global financial crisis, the theme of direct lending has gathered pace – and also gathered increasing…

Opening the books to investors In a survey from sister publication pfm, the number of managers trying “very hard” not to disclose a deficiency uncovered via a routine exam by regulators increased by 7%. Perhaps the only thing worse than a realised credit loss for alternative lenders is when the Securities and Exchange Commission comes…

Credit managers should embrace transparency Fund transparency should become a key part of the asset class as it continues its maturation. It’s no secret alternative assets are among the most expensive investment strategies. Of course, private credit, private equity and the like require a much more staffing-intensive effort than passive investment vehicles may need, and…

First-closing fee discounts can set GPs apart A surprising number of private markets managers don’t offer a break to their funds’ earliest investors. Private fund managers seem reticent to offer early-bird management fee discounts, according to two new surveys, closing a potential avenue to differentiate themselves as fundraising slows down. Private Debt Investor sister publication…

Turning a blind eye? In Europe, talk of battening down the hatches for a change in circumstances seems at odds with a lack of appetite for European distressed strategies. “The more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed during war.” Turnaround specialist Richard Thomson of RLT Advisory reached for this striking Chinese proverb when…

The growing gap between private credit’s haves and have-nots The top 10 firms have made up half of the capital collected over the past five years. The largest alternative lenders keep raising more money, according to PDI data. Examining the data collected for the PDI 50 – our ranking of the largest fundraisers over the…

When geography is the same Multi-regional and North American funds have taken the top two spots again for regions with most credit funds raised. Investors are going global this year, as funds with multi-regional geographic mandates raised have raised the most money in 2018 at $31.3 billion, or 35.36 percent of the $88.57 billion total,…

The importance of explaining Brexit Brexit makes a majority of LPs nervous about European credit markets, according to a PDI survey. Investors may have had almost two-and-a-half years to process and prepare for the UK’s departure from the EU, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still wary of the end result, data from a PDI…

Chasing special returns A poll asked our New York Forum audience to name the most promising strategy over the next year. It produced an interesting answer. “Predicting the end of the cycle is very difficult, if not impossible.” So said Cliffwater CEO Stephen Nesbitt in his introductory remarks as day one chair of our New…

Hiding the target Many fund managers are now not revealing how much their vehicle is hoping to raise. Managers may be becoming more secretive as the private credit pool has proliferated, as many now do not reveal fund targets, according to PDI data. A full 30 percent of funds in market have not disclosed their…