How private credit could quickly become a public problem

New York
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Investors are increasingly yanking their money from private credit funds that lend directly to businesses on worries that could unfortunately become all of our worries, whether we’re trading stocks or just going about our own lives.

So what’s the deal with private credit, and should everyone start stashing gold under their mattresses?

The short answers:

1. Investors have many concerns, but at the top of the list: If artificial intelligence is really as apocalyptic as all the people who stand to make money from it say, then a lot of companies could end up going out of business and defaulting on loans.

2. Although the situation has echoes of the 2008 financial crisis, you don’t need to panic — at least, not yet.

This week, private credit anxiety got some fresh attention after two of the biggest names in the business, Ares Management and Apollo Global Management, blocked investors from withdrawing all the money they wanted from private credit funds, according to the Financial Times and Bloomberg. (Limits on withdrawals are fairly standard, as private credit firms facilitating the loans want to prevent a kind of “run on the bank” panic that would force it to dump assets in a fire sale.)

This kind of thing has been happening a lot in recent months, most notably at Blue Owl Capital, which has lost 40% of its market value this year and was forced to wind down one of its buzzy retail-focused funds after backers got nervous and started demanding their money back.

The reason for all this agita has to do with the very nature of private credit: It’s… not public. I know that sounds a bit circular, but bear with me.

Private credit firms essentially act as banks, but without all the regulations…

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