Historically, covenant-lite was not a topic for much conversation in the middle market, as these loans were seen mostly in the broadly syndicated market. However, as the market has evolved, competition has intensified and lines have blurred between public and private credit. Cov-lite has increasingly gained share among smaller, unrated loans. What prompted this change? […]
We caught up recently with our chief investment strategist at Nuveen, Brian Nick for a conversation on markets and the economy: “4Q was the best quarter of 2021 from a GDP perspective,” he told us. “Last year’s growth was 5.5%, best since 1984. Even half that rate in 2022 would still be above trend. But […]
For private capital investors, the recent spate of market volatility is another opportunity to show strength relative to public asset classes. The threat of higher interestrates and spiking inflation sent equity indices on a roller coaster ride. But loan buyers looked at this same data set and voted with their feet. Last week another $2 […]
Last week we held our first “Lead Left Presents” webinar. 500 attendees heard four top middle-market investment bankers discussing what happened in the M&A market in 2021, and what’s to come for the year ahead. From a sector perspective, industrials were challenged in 2020, then bounced back sharply last year. Backlogs were “very strong” going […]
Over five hundred registrants tuned in last week for our “Lead Left Presents” 2022 M&A Outlook webinar. Our four panelists crammed in a ton of great content into 60 minutes. Here are a few highlights. Last year was an “acceleration” of what we saw in 4Q 2020. Not just in sheer volume, but across a […]
We’re kicking off the new year next week with our first “Lead Left Presents” webinar. Four top middle market investment bankers will be talking about the deal market, what happened last year, and what’s to come for 2022. What’s motivating buyers and sellers? How did Covid impact processes and outcomes? How is extreme liquidity affecting […]
As we wrap up our special series on the 2022 private credit outlook, we turn our attention to #ESG. As our Chart of the Week highlights ESG is a fundamental concern of investors. How impactful it will be on manager behavior will depend on regulation and client demand. ESG in some form has been around […]
Inflation and interest rates are linked but not always in straightforward ways. Fear of higher prices can drive rates up, while markets may ignore actual inflation having anticipated it. Recent data has certainly created alarming headlines. Last Friday’s CPI report showed November’s consumer prices up 6.8% versus a year ago. Not since 1982 (when Joe […]
In April 2015 we introduced the concept of the “cargo-pants strategy.” For direct lenders to compete against banks for leveraged loans, they needed to hold larger commitments. So managers raised CLOs, separate managed accounts, commingled funds, and BDCs to create loan storage pockets. They could then allocate large commitments across vehicles without any one holding […]
At recent private credit conferences we’ve been asked how managers think about portfolio construction. Kind of depends on your experience over the past twenty-two months. As one private equity partner told us, “we had a base case and a down-side case, but we didn’t have a no-revenue case.” Consumer-facing sectors had a rough time early […]