The future of private markets
- Sayed Kadiri
What will private markets look like in 10 years’ time? How much market share can private credit grab? Will the landscape be laden with private credit CLOs? And just how much of an illiquidity premium will exist as private credit becomes more mainstream?
At the K&L Gates Private Funds Conference 2025 last month, I was given the opportunity to opine on how private markets evolve over the next decade. One call, which admittedly didn’t require much crystal ball-gazing, was that issuers will become more nimble — alternating between loan, high yield and private credit markets. Why restrict yourself to one form of financing when credit markets ebb and flow?
9fin data shows that, since the start of 2023, 604 companies have issued debt in the European private credit market across euros and sterling. In that same timeframe, 323 issuers have accessed the syndicated loan market. But just 32 firms have tapped into both markets, for an overlap of 3.45%.
That number can only go higher. And the knock-on effect is that credit fund managers will have to adapt with flexible capital that can support issuers, whichever form of financing they opt for.
See below for the full video on the future of private markets, featuring nine predictions on what 2035 looks like.