(Bloomberg) — The global private credit industry has gotten yet another jolt with money managers being blocked from cashing out of their investments, adding to concerns about ‘gating’ that shook markets earlier this year.
One of Australia’s biggest private credit firms, Metrics Credit Partners, stopped investors from accessing some funds with redemptions of units in the underlying funds being suspended temporarily, according to statements on Wednesday from Perpetual Ltd., the entity responsible for the funds.
Private credit risks were thrust into the limelight earlier this year after a series of similar incidents among giants of the industry. While funds often curb redemptions at 5% of net asset value to safeguard liquidity when markets get jittery, some had initially granted requests to withdraw investments beyond that amount. So it unsettled sentiment when such rules were enforced at a time when demand to exit was growing.
In early September, Blackstone Private Credit Fund capped redemptions after receiving repurchase requests equivalent to about 10% of its net asset value. Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund followed suit after investors sought to withdraw roughly 16% of shares. Other major asset managers that have imposed similar restrictions include Apollo Global Management Inc., KKR & Co., BlackRock Inc. and Blue Owl Capital Inc.
Across the private credit industry, fund managers have tried hard to provide a sense of calm, to help investors minimize the inefficiencies of trying to get in and out which can be more costly than in equities and fixed income, according to Dugald Higgins, head of income research and head of sustainability at Zenith Investment Partners. But there is still the risk that negative sentiment in the sector could spur more gating ahead.
“It’s a negative feedback loop,” Higgins said. “People get nervous and sell and so therefore people get nervous and sell.”
The fresh reminders of such risks in the global $1.8 trillion industry come as Australia was already reeling from another private credit-fueled debacle. Sydney-based property developer Bathla Group went into administration in August, owing about A$3.4 billion ($2.4 billion), mainly to private lenders.
That case also spotlighted the threat that rising rates pose to real estate and the credit markets more generally.
“If we get another round of interest rate rises, you know, people want to be coming risk off more and more,” Higgins said. “When things get bad enough, it doesn’t matter how safe they look, people will just go to cash.”
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