Private Markets Risk Blowup in US Slump, Jefferies’s Wood Says

Private markets face meltdown if the US economy slips into a serious recession, according to Jefferies’ global head of equity strategy Christopher Wood.

“If there is a real US downturn, what blows up in America is private equity, private credit,” Wood said, in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday. “But we need a real downturn, without that downturn, you won’t get the blowup.”

Shares of the largest US private markets firms, including KKR & Co., Ares Management and Apollo Global Management fell sharply following President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, with many of their portfolio ...