Private Debt and Direct Lending - Articles & White Papers

Infrastructure debt has moved from a niche segment of private debt to a core institutional asset class. It provides exposure to essential, long-duration assets, often supported by contractual or regulated cash flows. Global issuance reached a record $1.5 trillion in 2025, crossing the $1.0 trillion threshold for the fifth…

Access is defining the next era of direct lending.

This issue explores the forces shaping today’s private markets universe, spanning private equity, venture capital, private credit, infrastructure, and real assets.

This paper explores where credit secondaries stand today, how they work, and why we believe disciplined underwriting and information advantage will define this market.

Given the growing shortfall in corporate financing, private debt is emerging as a relevant complement to traditional bank financing for companies needing capital for turnarounds, refinancing, or liquidity support.

Though the term is often overused, it is not hyperbole to say that a tokenization ‘revolution’ is quietly underway in the asset management sector and the broader financial system.
This transition is increasingly being reinforced by regulatory progress. In the U.S., the GENIUS Act, passed into law in July 2025,…

Private credit is facing renewed scrutiny after years of rapid growth. Apex Group looks beyond recent market noise to explore whether the pressure reflects sentiment-driven dislocation, liquidity dynamics, or a deeper shift in underlying credit fundamentals.

For life insurers, structured credit analysis has long relied on ratings, attachment points, manager quality, and relative value.

A widening confidence gap in non-traded investment vehicles is testing private credit valuations, sharpening the case for manager selection and diversification beyond direct lending.

Amid geopolitical volatility and shifting macro crosscurrents, the CRE recovery is intact - but uneven, with wider dispersion than headlines reveal. This creates a market that is ripe for alpha discovery through careful property, market, and fund selection.

As dispersion in CLO mezzanine tranches continues, the market is uncovering the primary drivers of whether portfolios preserve value or experience meaningful erosion.

Discover what some of the biggest asset managers and investment banks think the next six months hold in store for different asset classes in our latest mid-year outlooks report, tailored for each allocator type.

Private capital is increasingly being used to finance the fast-growing business of sports. MetLife Investment Management, a global leader in sports lending, has financed stadiums and teams for decades.

Direct lending refers to debt financing provided by a non-bank lender directly to a corporate borrower, without the involvement of an investment bank or loan syndicator.

This report examines the forces driving the expansion of private markets and the implications for investors, policymakers, intermediaries, and the investment profession.

Bank lending to the nonfinancial business sector in the United States has declined in recent decades, accompanied by an increase in credit provision by nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs). At the same time, banks are important providers of funding to the NBFI sector, raising concerns over their exposure to the risk in…

Investment opportunities and risks for 2026 include AI capex, U.S. dollar weakness, shrinking private credit, GARP, supply chain bottlenecks, rising defense spending.

The economic environment remains marked by persistent geopolitical uncertainties, recently exacerbated by tensions in the Middle East and their impact on energy prices, in a context where global value chains continue to reconfigure. The pause in monetary easing cycles, driven by inflationary risks, is sustaining elevated…

This midyear report delves into many market-driving issues, including conflict, the AI rollout, inflation, high oil prices and the U.S. midterms. It also identifies key equity and fixed income investment themes.

Asset-based finance is a vast category of investments. Learn how differences in structural protections and sourcing models help institutional investors parse the universe.