Michael Block

All strategies work – until they don’t. But while private credit may not be everything it’s cracked up to be, the risks need to be weighed with a sense of pragmatism.

Commentators warn that a new default cycle will strip the shine from private debt strategies, but not all managers have been “sitting on their hands”. And the dislocation in commercial real estate is creating new opportunities for savvy managers.

Those that have made high returns by overpaying for higher-risk/lower-quality credit have been lucky, but credit conditions are unlikely to be as benign in the future, writes former Australian Catholic Super CIO Michael Block.

Basing an investment strategy on the goldilocks investment markets of the last 35 years gives rise to considerable risk, writes Michael Block, and now might be the time to get out of growth assets.