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We recently joined several colleagues on an excellent PDI podcast – “New Era of Private Credit” – for a wide-ranging discussion of investment topics. We’ll include a link to the final published version when available but thought it would be profitable to expand on the conversation.

Let’s begin with this question: “What is driving the growing interest among advisors and direct contribution (DC) plans for private credit?”

There are many elements behind investor appetite...

“This is a Fed that locked arms, felt it was time to reduce policy from what was surprisingly restrictive to them. – Bob Michele, head of global fixed income currency & commodities, JPMorgan Investment Management.

Featuring Charts

Chart of the Week: Business Service as Usual

September 17, 2025

Business services and tech remain strong sectors for LBO candidates. Source:  KBRA DLD

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Chart of the Week: Relative Compression

September 9, 2025

Private credit yields have narrowed since 2023, but less than for single-Bs.  Source:  KBRA DLD

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Chart of the Week: Tariff Drag

September 3, 2025

Growth forecasts for this year and next are well below last December’s estimates. Source:  Oxford Economics/Haver Analytics

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Chart of the Week: All-Weather Buyouts

August 12, 2025

While direct lending was subdued with rate liftoff, it’s recovered despite tariff noise.  Source:  DLD KBRA

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Chart of the Week: Loans Unleashed

August 6, 2025

July set record monthly leveraged loan volume; eight of top ten highest in last two years. Source: PitchBook, Bloomberg

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Chart of the Week: Behind the Curve

July 29, 2025

Private equity fundraising through early June is slowest pace in over a decade. Source: PitchBook

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Features

Middle Market & Private Credit – 9/15/2025

US BDC Robust Unsecured Debt Issuance Reduces Funding, Liquidity Risk Click here to learn more. Strong unsecured debt issuance has continued for rated business development companies (BDCs) in 2025 amid favorable market conditions that have materially reduced refinancing risk and signaled a further deepening of the investor base. The best-positioned BDCs benefit from diverse funding…

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The Pulse of Private Equity – 9/15/2025

Private debt nowcast vs. reported returns Download PitchBook’s Report here. The Private Debt Barometer currently holds a stable, slightly positive score of 53, with a nowcast of 2.6% and a desmoothed nowcast of 2.9% for Q2 2025…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...

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Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis – 9/15/2025

US LevFin issuance slips to US$200bn despite historically active August For US LevFin, we saw trends of previous months continue to play out in August: (1) Defense over offense, with issuers largely focused on managing liabilities versus making acquisitions; (2) Strategic M&A driving the majority of underwritings; (3) Rate-sensitive LBO trades struggling to catch bids…

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PDI Picks – 9/15/2025

The differing priorities of LPs and GPs  Investors and fund managers have diverging priority lists according to a survey. The current fundraising environment has given rise to distinct challenges for market players and there is some misalignment between LPs and GPs on which issues are the most pressing…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log

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The Pulse of Private Equity – 9/8/2025

Rolling one-year PE fund returns Download PitchBook’s Report here. A review of desmoothed returns and the desmoothed nowcast over a rolling one-year horizon shows that PE fund returns significantly exceeded fundamental expectations implied by macroeconomic conditions throughout 2021 and 2022…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...

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