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• European Private Credit: Positive Momentum

  Barings' Adam Wheeler describes the strong and improving conditions in the European private credit market that have led to increased deal flow and higher-quality structures in recent months.

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• Riding the Refinancing Wave

  Private credit has fared well during this crisis, but the real test may come at the back end, say Barings’ head of private assets Eric Lloyd and CFO of Barings BDC Jon Bock.

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• Why the Distressed Debt Opportunity Looks Different This Cycle

  A surge in defaults and distressed opportunities seemed likely when COVID struck—but stimulus measures and creative financing solutions have reshaped both the opportunity set and the timing.

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• Three Factors Shaping the Opportunity in European Private Credit

  The growing importance of market access, a wider investor base and the impact of ESG on pricing are reshaping the European middle market.

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• North American Private Credit: Expectations vs. Reality

  The impact of COVID on North American private credit has been surprising in some ways and more predictable in others. Ian Fowler sheds light on lessons learned over the past year and offers advice on how to navigate today’s market.

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• Private Credit: Boring is (Still) Beautiful

  Barings' Ian Fowler discusses the current state of the North American private credit market, including insights into deal activity, pricing, and how the Barings team is investing through the pandemic.

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• Four Themes for Insurance Asset Management in 2021

  Insurers have fared relatively well through the pandemic, but there is likely a long and uneven road to recovery ahead. With this in mind, there are four key themes worth considering for insurance company investors in the months to come.

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• How Healthy is Today's Private Credit Market?

  Barings’ Jon Bock weighs in on the dynamics shaping private credit today—from deal activity, to leverage metrics, to spread levels—and discusses how investors can access the opportunity.

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• Private Credit: How Healthy is Today's Middle Market?

  Barings’ Jon Bock weighs in on the current dynamics driving today’s private credit markets from deal activity, to leverage metrics, to spread levels, and discusses the pro’s and con’s of investment structures from public and private BDCs to commingled funds.

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• Post-COVID European Private Credit: A Higher Quality Market?

  On the back of COVID, transactions in the European middle market are showing decreased leverage levels, stronger documentation and improvements in pricing—suggesting a rebasing of the market from where it has been for the past several years.

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• The Evolving Opportunity in Distressed Debt

  As the pandemic recedes, some companies may have a harder time managing higher debt levels than others—and as weaker issuers undergo restructurings or other stressed situations, there may be opportunities for investors to deploy more capital into distressed debt strategies.

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• Investor Series: Private Assets for Insurers

  Insurance investors face unique challenges in any environment but especially against today’s backdrop of continued low rates and a global economic slowdown. Barings’ Ann Bryant and Eric Lloyd discuss strategies for incorporating private assets as part of the solution.

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• ESG: The Intent Beyond the Income

  ESG is playing an increasingly meaningful role in fixed income investing. At Barings, we formally integrate ESG across our corporate credit asset classes—but the way we apply our analysis is necessarily different due to the nuances of each market.

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• ESG in Fixed Income: Progress Over Perfection

  Fixed income investors have been slower to adopt environmental, social and governance factors, but change is afoot. Barings’ experts explain how fixed income managers can—and are—driving tangible change among corporate debt issuers—and why investors need to pay attention.

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• Private Credit: The Turn of the Cycle

  Co-Heads of Global Private Finance, Ian Fowler and Adam Wheeler describe the evolving conditions in the North American and European private credit markets and where opportunities may arise in the months and years ahead.

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• What's Next for Private Credit?

  Now that the proverbial rubber has met the road, many investors are questioning what’s in store for private credit in the months (and years) ahead. In many ways, the current volatility is setting the stage for significant opportunities—but managing the downside is critical.

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• Private Credit: Why Last Cycle's Playbook Won't Work This Time

  Barings’ Jon Bock discusses the recent Insights paper he authored, which describes the mistakes that investors continue to make when allocating to private credit—and, importantly, how to avoid them.

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• Private Credit: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going

  Industry veterans Ian Fowler and Adam Wheeler describe the dramatic evolution of private credit markets and explain why quality of earnings and varied definitions of ‘senior’ risk could be at the center of the next credit market storm.

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• Amid Rising ‘Mequity’ Risk, Boring Can Be Beautiful

  In both the U.S. and Europe, there is significant pressure both at the top and bottom ends of the middle market. As a result, we’re seeing potentially attractive value today in the more traditional, true middle market.

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• Investing in Late-Cycle European Private Credit

  Adam Wheeler, Co-Head of Barings’ Global Private Finance Group, discusses the importance of discipline and risk management in today’s late-cycle environment.

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• Infrastructure Debt: Steady Activity, Lingering Macro Doubts

  Despite the expected seasonal summer slowdown, infrastructure debt financing deals remained steady overall in the third quarter of 2019—with strong activity in the U.S. and Canada, and slightly slowing activity in Europe, with a cautious eye toward Brexit.

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• The GFC: 10 Years On

  The mid-market continues to attract private debt investors as the Fed cuts interest rates. Could this fuel the economy and rev up the deal market, or are we nearing the end of the credit cycle? Eric Lloyd recently weighed in with a panel of experts for PDI.

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• Highlights from the Barings 360 Private Markets Conference

  Watch Barings CEO, Tom Finke, and other senior leaders discuss their key takeaways from the firm's signature private assets event.

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• A CIO's Perspective

  Barings' Jonathan Bock caught up with industry veteran, William Spitz, on trends in today's private markets.

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• Barings 360: For LPs, By LPs

  Attendees of the Barings 360 Private Markets Conference discuss the value of exchanging ideas and perspectives with their peers.

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• Private Credit: How Supply/Demand Dynamics are Shaping the Landscape

  Ian Fowler, Co-Head of the North American Private Finance Group, discusses the dynamics of each middle market segment—including upper-end style shift resulting from competitive pressures—and explains why the traditional middle is the sweet spot.

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• Is There Style Drift in Middle Market Lending?

  Barings’ Ian Fowler weighs in on the supply/demand dynamics in the direct lending space and explains why looking at the middle market as one cohesive universe can be misleading.

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• Assessing Today’s Private Credit Landscape

  Private credit markets have seen an increase in investor demand over the last decade. But with competition fierce and the cycle maturing, what factors should investors consider moving forward? Barings’ Eric Lloyd identifies where he and his team see the best relative value today.

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• Seeking Value in Today’s Private Credit Market

  In this Q&A, Barings’ Eric Lloyd discusses his team’s approach to navigating the risks and capitalizing on the opportunities across the global private credit markets.

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• 5 Things to Consider When Investing in Private Credit

  In this piece from Benefits and Pensions Monitor, Barings’ Ian Fowler discusses five key considerations for investors interested in allocating to private credit.

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• Maintaining Discipline in a Maturing Credit Cycle

  With competition high and signs of mispricing of some assets, Eric Lloyd of Barings stresses the importance of a global and diversified approach to portfolio construction.

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• As European Private Credit Evolves, Discipline is Key

  At a time when the trends and dynamics underlying the European private credit market have evolved considerably, Adam Wheeler, Barings’ Head of Europe and Asia Pacific Private Finance, explains why a disciplined approach to investing in the space is beneficial for investors.

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• Surveying Today’s Infrastructure Debt Landscape

  Three key members of Barings’ Infrastructure Debt Investment Team—Emeka Onukwugha, Patrick Manseau and Pieter Welman—discuss, among other issues, the evolution of the global infrastructure debt market, opportunities in today’s environment and how investors can gain intelligent exposure to the asset class.

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• Cross-Border Origination: Tax Reform and Other Considerations

  Financing and structuring cross-border deals can be challenging, particularly in light of the U.S. tax reform. In today's interconnected world, finding the right financing partner is key.

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• Seeking Relative Value in Global Private Debt

  As institutional investors continue to turn toward private debt for potentially attractive risk adjusted returns in a low-yielding environment, they may benefit from taking a global approach to the asset class.

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