In the capital markets this year, it’s all been about rates and inflation: can the Fed’s higher-for-longer regime bring prices down close to pre-pandemic levels without triggering a recession? At the moment, the answer seems to be yes. Both credit investors and issuers are using private capital as a vehicle proven resilient through rate, economic,…
Why is private credit getting called out for potential bubbles and systemic risk when banks have been the ones failing? We posed that question to Van Hesser, the chief strategist for KBRA. Mr. Hesser produces a weekly podcast, “Three Things in Credit.” His October 27th conversation about private credit, capital markets and the economy caught…
The confusion around differences between public and private credit dynamics has been compounded by the rapid growth of the illiquid asset class. The middle market was infrequently on investors’ radars until it began to rival broadly syndicated loans and high-yield bonds in size. At $1.5 trillion, private credit has caught up with both, and by…
Two economic dynamics are driving capital markets. First, GDP strength which, by many measures, remains steady if not buoyant. One of our favorite contributors is Caterpillar. Hard to think of a better representative of cyclical industrials than the Peoria, IL-based manufacturer of heavy “yellow-iron” equipment. The company reported a 12% revenue increase to $16.8 billion…
This week we chaired Day One of SuperReturn’s Private Credit US conference in New York. It’s a measure of the popularity of the asset class (and the outstanding agenda) that the auditorium was standing room only. Not including other SuperReturn strategy sessions on another floor. In preparing for the opening keynote, we gave thought to…
Since Labor Day we’ve spent considerable time at conferences and with investors. Nothing focuses the mind better. And what we’ve found is a disconnect between perception and reality. Take the economy. Beginning a year ago, there was a growing worry that higher rates were going to plunge the US into a recession. Anyone calling for…
After our stop in Stockholm last month to visit investor clients with our Nuveen and Arcmont colleagues (and after our scheduled meetings in Finland were postponed by a baggage handlers’ strike at Helsinki-Vantaa airport), we gathered at Copenhagen’s Hotel d’Angleterre for an event showcasing alternative strategies. The Nordics share several similarities – the “Nordic model”…
Our recent visit to Sweden was the 12th country in our 2023 global private credit tour meeting clients and prospects. The Nordic region has always been strong in terms of investor interest and commitment to alternatives. Amid higher rates, that appetite has sharpened, as our colleagues at Arcmont (and Nuveen for real estate and green…
As master of ceremonies at last week’s Greenwich Economic Forum, your correspondent had a ring-side seat at the event’s sixth annual gathering at the Delamar Hotel in Greenwich, CT. The list of speakers read like a Who’s Who of Nobel-prize winning thought-leaders in business, economics, and investments. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by…
At a recent private markets conference in Paris, Blackstone’s CEO Stephen Schwarzman said private equity “has just been too successful. Institutions have made so much money that all of a sudden they’ve exceeded their expected exposure.” As a result, cash-constrained investors are looking to the secondary market to sell some of their exposure. But has…