Investors are continuing to pump capital into private debt, pushing total assets under management above half a trillion dollars as of June 2015, according to Preqin.
Total industry assets ($523 billion) grew from $483 billion at the end of 2014. In 2006 there was just $156 billion in the asset class.
The largest proportion of these assets was allocated to distressed debt, Preqin found, totaling $199 billion. Mezzanine and direct lending funds held about $130 billion and $115 billion in assets, respectively.
“Private debt received a resounding mark of approval from the institutional investor community in 2015, and sustained investor confidence testifies that the asset class can provide strong, risk-adjusted returns,” Ryan Flanders, Preqin’s head of private debt products, said.
Investors showed consistent support for private debt, Preqin found, with 86% of respondents stating their investments either met or exceeded expectations in 2015. Nearly half of surveyed investors said they would commit more capital over the next 12 months.
Furthermore, 54% of investors viewed private debt positively. More than one-quarter of investors said they gained confidence in private debt over the past 12 months, while just 7% expressed reduced confidence.
Fundraising for private debt reached a six-year high of $85.2 billion, a hike from $72.2 billion in 2014, the report said. More than one-third of total fundraising in 2015 was conducted by funds focused on European opportunities, pointing to the rapid growth in the private debt market in the region.
“Europe’s burgeoning direct lending market, especially, should play an increasingly influential role in the development of private debt after its record-breaking year of fundraising,” Flanders continued.
The swelling in fundraising also helped dry powder hit a record high as of March 2016, with $186.5 billion ready to be deployed. North America- and Europe-focused unspent capital represented 96% of the total, “meaning that the two regions will continue to dominate the private debt landscape in the short term,” the report said.
“With private lending providing an alternative fixed income-style product, the industry should continue to feature prominently in investors’ portfolios over the coming years, and allocation increases are expected to bolster fundraising further,” Preqin concluded.
Related: Dry Powder Stacks Up in Distressed Debt & Private Debt Key as UK Investors Turn Cautious