Private Credit Goes Big on Open-Ended Funds to Lure Retail Cash

Private credit is pulling out all the stops to attract retail investors with increasingly popular open-ended vehicles that are bringing a new set of risks for the fast-growing industry.

A record number of so-called evergreen funds, which are a better match for the liquidity requirements of individual investors, will be started in North America this year, a report by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicts. Open-ended structures already accounted for 18% of all private credit fund launches last year, according to data from Preqin Ltd. Launches include the rollout of open-ended funds and the closure of traditional ones.