Private Debt: Distressed Debt Dominates Q2 2018 In Q2 2018, 22 private debt funds held a final close, securing a total of $25bn in capital. Although this marks a significant decrease from the 33 private debt vehicles which held a final closure in Q1 2018, Q2 saw an increase of over $5.0bn in capital raised.

Investors Flock to US Lower-Middle-Market Private Debt A Preqin/NXT Capital survey of 78 institutional investors investing in private debt found that 45% believe that the private debt market is at a peak and that assets are overvalued, leading investors to believe that the coming months will see a correction. In response, investors are looking increasingly

North America-Focused Mezzanine Fundraising: Off to a Strong Start As at May 2018, seven North America-focused mezzanine funds have held a final close, securing a total $4.1bn in capital. These fundraising levels put 2018 on path to exceed 2017 activity: in 2017, 17 North America-focused mezzanine funds closed and raised an aggregate $5.2bn. This represented

Private Debt: A Slow Start for Europe Historically, Europe and North America have accounted for the lion’s share of the private debt fundraising market. However, Europe-focused fundraising did experience a slight downtick in levels in the first quarter of 2018, with just four funds reaching a final close and securing an aggregate €1.9bn. By contrast,

Private Debt and Public Market Performance A key issue for investors when evaluating the performance of their private debt investments is the correlation to public markets. Part of the appeal of private debt is its low correlation to other asset classes, as well as its long-term and illiquid nature. As such, though, it makes accurately

Private Debt Fundraising Struggles to Gain Momentum in Asia Although the rapid expansion of the private debt industry is widely recognised, it is equally apparent that the bulk of the increase has been focused on established markets in North America and Europe. Less focus has been paid to opportunities in Asia, and consequently the region

Private Debt Deals: North America vs. Europe 2017 saw the highest level of fundraising activity for private debt funds to date, a strong indication of increasing investor appetite for the asset class. However, fund managers must now put this capital to work. In a recent Preqin survey, the largest proportion of fund managers cited valuations

Women Account for Less than a Fifth of Private Debt Employees The lack of female representation in alternative assets has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, as women account for less than a fifth of employees in firms across all alternative asset classes. When looking at the representation of women in different levels seniority,

Sovereign Wealth Funds Invest in Private Debt Many institutional investors regard private debt as an asset class that presents attractive opportunities amid low interest rates and stringent regulatory requirements imposed on banks post-Global Financial Crisis. Sovereign wealth funds also have gravitated to the asset class, and 38% of this group of investors are known to

North America Dominates the Distressed Debt Market The distressed debt market in North America remains the largest globally: 75% of all distressed debt funds raised since 2015 have been primarily focused on the region, amounting to an aggregate $73bn in capital secured. Following similar patterns seen in the overall private debt universe,...