Schroders Capital announced on Monday the formation of its new private debt and credit alternatives business unit, which it describes as a response to investor interest in these alternatives. Schroders’ PDCA unit will offer products such as real asset debt, structured and corporate credit, specialty finance and impact lending, and it will manage $30 billion in assets.
“Investors are having to navigate an ever-evolving, often volatile market environment, and they need dynamic and flexible solutions to navigate market conditions that are unfamiliar to many,” said Michelle Russell-Dowe and Stephan Ruoff, Schroders’ co-heads of PDCA, in a joint statement.
Russell-Dowe and Ruoff will report to Georg Wunderlin, Schroders’ global head of private assets, while continuing their current responsibilities as global head of securitized product and asset-based finance and global head of insurance-linked securities, respectively.
Schroders hopes the creation of PDCA allows it to capitalize on high asset owner interest in alternatives. Pension funds have been increasing allocations to alternatives; in October, the State Board of Administration of Florida nearly doubled its target allocations to certain alternative asset classes, including active credit.
Other pension funds have significantly increased their private credit and debt holdings, including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System—which seeks to double its holdings in the asset class—the New York State Common Retirement Fund and the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio.
Schroders is not alone. Earlier this year, Blackstone created a new business unit, Blackstone Credit & Insurance, to streamline its credit-based offerings.
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Tags: Alternatives, Michelle Russell-Dowe, PDCA, Private Debt, Private Debt and Credit Alternatives, Schroders, Schroders Capital, Stephan Ruoff