Private debt marries access with opportunity for insurers
22 October 2023
When it comes to private debt, how do investors strike the right balance when determining a suitable allocation for their portfolios in this asset class?
Private debt has been a hot topic in the insurance industry, and with good reason. Today’s fertile market opportunity coupled with an increasing spectrum of collateral choices, and the proliferation of capital efficient vehicles, has made this long-standing asset class even more accessible to the insurance industry.
When evaluating the potential benefits of private debt, investors should focus on origination and sourcing platforms, loss mitigation, investment structure and, of course, fees. As we experience a period of higher loan yields and dwindling global lending by banks in the wake of the recent bank failures, the value proposition for credit investing is clear.
Private debt and insurers
Characteristics of private debt
Moreover, the proliferation of new private debt strategies and collateral in recent years has given investors more opportunities for increased diversification and customization, offering greater choice but requiring close examination to evaluate the appropriateness for each unique balance sheet.
An example of this is asset-based finance – an emerging subset of private debt where the cashflow profile is driven by the performance of a pool of collateral rather than the performance of a single operating company.
The proliferation of new private debt strategies and collateral in recent years has given investors more opportunities for increased diversification and customization.
Privately originated investments secured by large and diversified pools of financial and hard assets that generate recurring cash flows.
A growing number of interesting asset-based finance strategies are coming to market that we believe could offer differentiated risk/return profiles versus more traditional private credit assets. Features such as attractive yields, potential as an inflation hedge, the potential for loan amortization and the possible downside protection of returns backed by hard assets or contractual cash flows further increase the appeal.
Overall, we believe the growth of the private asset-based/specialty finance market will continue as bank disintermediation leads more borrowers to seek private, alternative lending solutions.
Potential characteristics of an asset-based finance allocation:
- Diverse opportunity set across various collateral types
- Downside protection through structural security
- Increased yields available via illiquidity and complexity premiums
- Cash flow generating and amortizing asset profiles
- Ability to target both investment grade and non-investment credit risk
- Risks around interest rates and refinance, consumer weakness and overvaluation
Strategies that target risk-adjusted returns in debt securities that are tied to market dislocation caused by inflation, rising interest rates and overall market volatility and are potentially attractive for companies that do not have access to traditional credit.
The catalyst for opportunistic credit is monetary tightening by central banks as inflation remains persistent despite the rise of interest rates. The rising rates are squeezing the same sectors that benefited most from the low rates of the post-GFC and COVID period as well as the financial institutions that provided them financing.
Therefore, stress on banks will only worsen capital scarcity but also give investors options to access special situations and distressed strategies positioned for potential dislocation. With careful manager selection an opportunistic mandate can provide significant diversification benefits to an investor’s portfolio.
Potential rationales for investment in broad based credit opportunities are:
- Tightening lending standards at banks create opportunities for patient providers of capital
- Discounted performing credit is attractive when asset owners require liquidity
- A potential value-add when flexible capital could provide bespoke financings and restructuring
- Access to alternative credit alpha throughout a market cycle
Evolution of capital-efficient vehicles in private debt
Reviewing the current opportunity
Why might now be an opportune time to invest in private credit? In short, we believe the environment is ripe for dispersion, which means opportunities are available for skilled providers of capital. Yields are up across the credit spectrum, the supply of capital is dwindling, and higher debt servicing costs are weighing on economic growth. As a result, private credit lenders with access to capital are well positioned to fill the void for borrowers who can no longer access traditional forms of bank financing.
Historically, central bank tightening has led to crises of one form or another, and most hiking cycles are driven by inflation – which remains high, along with the core ingredient for sustained inflation: a tight labor supply. Rising rates are also squeezing those that benefited most from low interest rates, as well as the financial institutions that provided them with the financing.
The economic backdrop then, remains challenging. Meanwhile, timing, diversification and fund selection remain critical elements to be evaluated. A diversified approach across the components of a distress cycle may be best accomplished through a multi-manager approach, and, not surprisingly, dispersion between fund returns remains an investor’s top consideration, with manager selection a key to success.
The private credit opportunity is one that many insurers have taken note of and others may want to explore further. If you would like to speak to one of our insurance or private debt specialists, contact us via the form below.