Private Credit: a smart choice
For many years I’ve advocated investment in equities. That won’t change. I believe owning quality growing businesses is the surest way to long-term wealth creation. A quick glance at the ‘rich lists’ of the wealthiest people in Australia, for example, reveals a list of business owners. And the stock market provides investors with access to many of the very same businesses. Purchase at a rational price a portfolio of businesses whose earnings march upwards over the years, and so will the market value of your portfolio.
But volatility, and sometimes very serious volatility, is something every equity investor must also accept.
And that’s why diversification across asset classes is essential for investors. Beyond the usual options however, a new asset class is accelerating its growth thanks to a combination of heightened demand in funds, particularly from businesses looking for expansion capital, and a change in the ability of the major banks to service those needs. The result is Private Credit, where investors lend capital to businesses through skilled investment managers and lending originators. Previously the prized preserve of high net worth and family office investors, and with a storied history in Europe and the U.S., Australian investors now have access to this important asset class.
When I first met Brett Craig, Head of Private Credit at Aura Group and was invited to conduct due diligence on his Aura High Yield SME Fund, I not only discovered a Private Credit fund with the same focus as ours – to invest in quality businesses – in Brett’s case he lends to them rather than invests in their equity and has a superior position in the capital stack – I also discovered how performance above the stock market can be achieved with a lot less volatility.
Brett and the Aura team have produced a net return of greater than 9.5 per cent per annum since August 2017, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, and achieved it with zero volatility of capital. In other words, while his fund produced a high return with monthly distributions reinvested, the unit price had never varied from one dollar.
That’s extraordinary, and it’s why we agreed to team up with Brett and his team and offer his capability to investors like you, joining a suite of expert investment managers that Montgomery now represents.
Q&A with Brett Craig on Private Credit
Watch this short Q&A interview with myself and Brett on Private Credit. We discuss how Private Credit funds work, how they’re structured to protect against risks, and the impact of the current economic environment on the Private Credit sector.
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