Private Credit has experienced tremendous growth, becoming a US$1.4 trillion asset class that is expected to scale to US$2.3 trillion by 2027. Despite 8% to 12% annualised returns, outpacing traditional fixed income and even exceeding long-run equity returns, some commentators argue that Private Credit represents emerging systemic risk. That is a fundamental misunderstanding of Private Credit. There are lending verticals where banks are not efficient capital providers or cannot lend economically, due to structural changes, regulation and changing prudential standards. Credit funds can capitalise on this dynamic by providing tailored lending solutions to borrowers, earning a premium in secured, asset-backed and defensive loans, often the ones banks provided historically. It is a generational opportunity for outsized returns per unit of risk - a structural evolution, not risky business.

Frank Danieli