The ACC’s Global Summit 2025 in London brought together LPs, GPs, and other industry specialists from around the world. Here are key takeaways from Portfolio BI’s Commercial Director, Chris Cattermole.
At the summit, speakers summed up private credit’s current state in three terms: evolving, maturing, and in flux.
Across discussion panels on retail participation, data transparency, and investor expectations, one theme stood out:
Private credit is entering the mainstream, bringing new responsibilities, regulation, and scrutiny.
1. Retail Participation: Opening the Gates
A major talking point on the day was private credit’s growing reach into retail markets. Stricter banking regulation has created opportunities for private credit managers to step in where traditional lenders cannot.
Open-ended and semi-liquid funds are enabling access to new sources of liquidity. These include insurance balance sheets and 401(k) plans, which together represent vast pools of investable capital.
Scale, product breadth, and cross-product investment are becoming the markers of successful platforms.
Diversification across both products and investor types will be key to sustaining this momentum.
2. Data, Reporting, and the Technology Challenge
As institutional investors demand ever more granular insights, transparency and efficiency have become critical differentiators for private credit firms. Insurance companies who are now amongst the biggest allocators to private credit are driving calls for higher reporting standards.
Managers are under pressure to “slice and dice” data across performance, risk, and valuation. Yet bespoke manual reporting for every investor is unsustainable.
As one speaker put it: “you can’t say yes to everything”. Knowing when to say no is important when resources are stretched. Being able to harmonize reporting between LPs and GPs is becoming a real competitive advantage, though. The answer almost certainly lies in automation, templates, and AI tools that standardize data and reduce manual input.
PBI’s CEO Jonathan White said: “Insurance companies are major investors in private credit, making the accuracy and transparency of credit ratings essential. Ratings influence investment decisions, portfolio risk, and ultimately investor confidence. At Portfolio BI, we ensure that robust data and analytics provide a clear, reliable view for all stakeholders.”
3. Views from the Board
Despite market volatility, private credit remains well capitalized, with high levels of “dry powder” ready to deploy. Yet competition is intensifying, both within the sector and with banks.
Speakers at the summit discussed the shifting dynamics of syndicated lending, where funds sometimes compete with banks and at other times collaborate. I also saw broad agreement that industry data needs clearer definitions to better reflect managers’ day-to-day experience.
Evergreen or semi-liquid funds must be handled carefully to avoid liquidity mismatches.
And while regulation is tightening globally, UK managers feel their compliance burden is heavier than for US counterparts.
4. Products vs. Solutions: What Investors Want
It was clear that LP expectations are changing. In the US, the market still centers on flow business—high-volume, transactional investing, while UK and European investors favor a more institutional, relationship-driven approach.
Everywhere, transparency remains the top priority. LPs are increasingly sophisticated, demanding independent valuations, more frequent performance updates, and even line-by-line portfolio visibility, not just a headline NAV. As the sector continues to mature, managers who can combine this openness with strong governance and diversified vehicles are likely to stand out.
Thank you to the Alternative Credit Council for hosting such an insightful event, which this year truly highlighted how private credit has evolved from a niche market into one of the most closely watched areas in alternative investments globally.
