Private Credit Sells Funds for Small Investors as Big Ones Balk

  • Interval funds grow popular as direct lenders seek retail cash
  • Firms see investment advisers as key to diversifying funding

Private credit funds are finding it harder to raise capital from the largest investors as still-high interest rates weigh on financial assets. 

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
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Private credit firms are looking to get their share of an estimated $178 trillion personal wealth market by offering individual investors what looks almost like a mutual fund.

The product, called an interval fund, is being pitched to registered investment advisers as an easy-to-sell entry into direct lending. Interval funds are being offered in amounts as low as $1,000 and can be purchased online through brokerage accounts, unlike larger investments that require multi-page subscription agreements.