Private Credit’s Biggest BDCs Grappling With Investor Exodus (1)

Investors who poured billions of dollars into private credit over the past half-decade are now rushing to yank their cash from vehicles holding direct loans, amid lower returns and fears over credit quality in the $1.7 trillion asset class.

From Ares Management Corp. to Blue Owl Capital Inc. and Blackstone Inc., the biggest lenders were hit with a spike in requests from investors to withdraw money from their large non-traded business development companies in the three months through December.

Investors in BDCs holding more than $1 billion asked to pull a total of more than $2.9 billion in the ...