Direct Lending Growth Spurt Brings Calls for More Transparency
- Pandemic prompts drive for more visibility on valuations
- Direct lending booms in Europe amid investors’ hunt for yield
This article is for subscribers only.
Managers of Europe’s fast-growing direct lending funds are facing calls to be clearer about how companies in their portfolios are performing, as investors get pickier about the way loans are valued.
Investors piling into the booming industry benefit from higher returns but at the cost of having to rely on valuations that can be more opaque compared to other asset classes. Many are now actively pushing for more detail, said Richard Olson, managing director in the European valuations and opinions group at Lincoln International, a Chicago-based advisory firm.