Commentary

Letter from Switzerland

We conclude our current private debt world tour with stops last week in Geneva and Zurich. As was the case with our previous visits in various overseas capitals, investors shared similar concerns about the world of volatile liquid markets and the relative stability and value in private markets. And as was the case with other…

Letter from Seoul (Second of Two Parts)

“Private credit is the only bright spot in asset allocation right now.” The themes around private credit of consistent returns, valuation stability and low-risk portfolios were repeatedly underlined in the twenty or so meetings we had with investors in our weeklong trip around Seoul, South Korea. Fortunately conditions are increasingly propitious for both private credit…

Letter from Seoul (First of Two Parts)

Our APAC tour continued last week with a stop in Seoul, South Korea. There our investors, partners, associates, and friends were eager to hear our message on markets and how private credit fits into the current climate. Korea’s overhanging long-term geopolitical issue, according to local sources, is what to do with China. It’s an economic…

Letter from Down Under (Second of Two Parts)

In our various overseas meetings over the past six months with institutional investors in the Middle East, Japan, UK, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Singapore and, most recently, Australia, consistent themes arise. The virtues of private credit are generally well appreciated, particularly in light of recent interest rates that have lifted all-in returns to historic highs. But…

Letter from Down Under (First of Two Parts)

In our continuing series on global private credit, we next cover the history and outlook for the asset class in Australia. In a visit to Melbourne and Sydney last week, we met with a number of clients and firms with exposure, appetite, or interest in private debt. What became clear in these conversations was how…

Three Myths of Private Market Valuations (Last of Three Parts)

We conclude our special series on private market valuation myths with: Myth 3: Leveraged capital structures lead to conflicts of interest amongst private equity sponsors and lenders that can create negative outcomes and lower valuations. We asked Ron Kahn, Lincoln International’s valuation chief, to help parse this issue. “If you look at public company capital…

Three Myths of Private Market Valuations (Second of Three Parts)

We began our special series by dispelling the notion that privates should mimic publics. This week we tackle: Myth 2: Private equity valuation processes lack objectivity and transparency, which inflates values compared to public counterparts. For help we turn again to Ron Kahn, Lincoln International’s head of valuations. Lincoln recently published an excellent article, “Three…

Three Myths of Private Market Valuations (First of Three Parts)

In our special series last month on why private debt valuations should not be viewed through the same lens as those of public debt (“Glasses Half-Full”), we dug into the various characteristics of illiquid loans that make them particularly attractive in the current market. Now our friends at Lincoln International have published a timely report…

Letter from Singapore (Second of Two Parts)

Besides private credit, there’s growing volume in Singapore around private equity, real estate, and even venture capital. And investors there are researching specialty finance areas such as royalty financings, asset-backed, aviation, and legal settlement. Fundraising for APAC private debt amounted to $14 billion in 2022, a rather modest figure compared to US and Europe, but…

Letter from Singapore (Part One)

In our second visit to Asia this month, we again found both variety and vitality of interest among managers and investors in private markets. Two stellar industry conferences in Singapore, the PDI’s APAC Forum and Asian Private Banker’s Alternatives in Focus, headlined speakers from top global and regional shops. Attendees were, at PDI’s event, leading…