Investment alternatives: Navigating private credit’s ‘golden age’

As retail bank lending regulations and capital requirements have tightened, and interest rates have risen, global investors have turned their focus to corporate private credit. Once a relatively small part of the debt market, this investment class is rapidly expanding, leading some to describe today as “a golden age of private credit”.

For borrowers, private credit offers flexible lending and tailored loan structures. For investors, well-managed funds provide strong, uncorrelated returns and diversify portfolios. However, critics point to potential concerns for less sophisticated investors as private credit continues to expand and evolve into a more complex risk profile. Well thought out investment decision-making will be key.

Investment alternatives: Navigating private credit’s ‘golden age’ is an AFR Intelligence report published by the thought leadership division of The Australian Financial Review in March 2025. The report was commissioned by La Trobe Financial and authored by The Action Exchange.

Read the full report and further coverage in the Australian Financial Review