Private Debt Investor Podcast PEI Group

This episode is sponsored by the Credit Investments Group (CIG)
Private credit has expanded exponentially in recent years, with most citing the contraction in syndicated markets as the cause of that growth. But now those markets are opening back up, and questions linger about how that will affect private credit.
So what do continued inflation and elevated interest rates mean for today's managers? What does private credit look like now, and how will it adapt to a new macroeconomic landscape? Will private credit shrink in the wake of access to public credit, or will the two co-exist to provide a full suite of financing options to their clients?
In this episode, we'll look back at the causes of private credit's recent boom, how much of that boom might continue, and what the future of lending is likely to be in the coming years. We’re joined by Kevin Lawi, private credit portfolio manager and head of origination at the Credit Investments Group in UBS Asset Management (formerly known as Credit Suisse Asset Management), along with his colleague on the public side, David Mechlin, a US portfolio manager and member of the CIG Corporate Credit Committee.

This episode is sponsored by Blackstone
Private credit has seen significant growth over the past year, with some of the largest asset managers increasing their allocations to the sector. It comes as volatile market conditions and geopolitical tensions have plagued most industries, revealing private debt as a more secure source of capital. So, how are firms looking to take advantage of this uptick in activity? And what areas will they be focusing on going forward?
In this episode, we're joined by Blackstone’s Michael Zawadzki and Brad Marshall to explore some of the trends shaping private credit and analyse what the manager’s investment strategy looks like. The podcast comes after Blackstone integrated its corporate credit, asset-based finance and insurance groups into a single new unit called Blackstone Credit & Insurance (BXCI) in September.

In this episode, Andy Thomson sits down with Darius Craton, a director at Raymond James/Cebile Capital, a private fund placement and secondary advisory specialist. Craton reflects on PDI's fundraising data for 2023, providing insight into why it was a difficult year for those raising fresh capital but also why 2024 is shaping up to be more fruitful.
See Private Debt Investor's full 2023 fundraising report here.

In this episode, we catch up with Jiří Król, global head of the Alternative Credit Council within the Alternative Investment Management Association. The ACC is a body that represents the private credit industry to policymakers, legislators and regulatory authorities globally.
In the conversation, Król discusses implications arising from the second, revised version of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), which fund managers in Europe will need to incorporate into their activities over the next few years.
One of the issues noted by Król is the definition of loan origination funds, which he believes may deter opportunistic investment at times when it’s most needed by the real economy. The conversation also covers areas such as cross-border investing, leverage, liquidity and risk management.
To listen to our other episodes – including our Decade of Private Debt miniseries – subscribe to the Private Debt Investor Podcast for great insights into the private debt asset class. A recent interview with Król may also be found here.

In this episode, we catch up with Reji Vettasseri, lead portfolio manager for private markets investments at Decalia, a Geneva-headquartered wealth management specialist.
Vettasseri reflects on some of the key takeaways from PDI’s LP Perspectives 2024 study in conversation with PDI senior editor Andy Thomson and explains why he thinks appetite to invest in private debt funds is growing after a challenging fundraising year in 2023. He also shares his views on why confidence in private debt performance is so strong, and questions whether investors are necessarily justified in continuing to allocate large amounts of capital to the same strategies they’ve backed up to now.
Click here for the full LP Perspectives 2024 report.

In the final episode of our Decade of Private Debt podcast miniseries, the partner in client and product solutions at Apollo discusses the progression of her firm’s private debt business, as well as her personal growth within the industry.
Be sure to also check out our Decade of Private Debt special report at Private Debt Investor.