Private debt has stepped out of the shadows of the banking system to become an important supporter of business activity. All of the elements that have attracted the banks to this market for centuries - security against the borrowers’ assets, attractive risk-adjusted returns, steady income - remain in place. But private debt delivers them without the baggage of regulation and high fixed costs that apply to banks. This, plus the diversification and protection against rising inflation and interest rates, makes private debt essential to modern portfolios. If the end objective is a...