An average buyout now needs about 12% annual EBITDA growth to return 2.5x gross. Bain's Emilio Domingo argues that with margins flat and multiple expansion gone, buyouts must earn their returns through operations.

Inflexion's latest testing and inspection platform completed 18 acquisitions in a single year. Flor Kassai argues that repeat sub-sector playbooks let mid-market buyers price risk better than generalist rivals.

Roughly 19,000 US private equity funds compete for capital, and Latham & Watkins' Yen Sum expects private credit to be even more crowded. She argues that scale and rising regulatory barriers will force private capital managers to consolidate.

Routine fraud takes 1 to 5% of a company's revenue, yet most compliance programs focus on bribery. Rupert Evill of Ethics Insight argues ESG questionnaires crowd out the integrity risk most likely to cost portfolio companies money.

Most BDCs would keep their asset coverage cushions even if half their software loans were written off, by Fitch's stress test. Fitch's Meghan Neenan argues private credit's software stress will not come to a head until maturities step up in 2028.

Individual investors should pair passive public equities with a large private allocation, the way family offices do. Ontario-based advisor Benjamin Sinclair argues advisors now find their edge in private markets and tax strategy, with stock picking left behind.

Direct lending pricing is at least 50 basis points wider than last year, with tighter leverage. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Jeff Bracchitta argues this year's pullback has started a better vintage for lenders.

Apollo expects the AI buildout to concentrate credit like nothing seen before. CEO Marc Rowan argues that concentrated lending must pay investors in both higher yield and added safety, and Apollo is lending secured against chips and energy.

Private equity fundraising has split into fast, slow and stalled lanes even though LP allocation budgets remain intact. Adam Turtle of Rede Partners argues that investors are re-examining managers and sectors, and that DPI now serves as proof that marks are real.

Picking one institutional buyout fund over another does not generate outperformance above $500 million in fund size. John Renkema of Avida International argues that diversification and steady commitment pacing are the only true alpha left for LPs.

About 95% of NAV loans now fund accretive deals inside funds, a reversal from the pre-Covid era of distribution-driven borrowing. Alex Branton of Nodem Capital argues that LPs should judge each facility by its purpose and loan-to-value, and mark the underlying NAV themselves.

Some 65% of revenue in the big 4 North American leagues comes from long-term contracts, mostly with investment grade companies. Ian Charles of Arctos argues that premium sports franchises are a compounding, anti-cyclical asset and that league rules prevent a valuation bubble.

Lenders to software companies are repaid in full if a third to 40% of entry value survives, because loan-to-values run near 30 to 40%. David Hirschmann of Permira Credit argues that AI threatens sponsors' exit multiples far more than lenders' recoveries.

Texas allocators want AI upside through equity and private infrastructure while pulling their diversifying capital out of loans that fund the buildout. TCU CIO Jason Safran argues that LPs should map how much AI credit risk hides in the parts of the portfolio meant to protect them.

Energy and advanced manufacturing startups carry less market risk than consumer software because each product replaces a good a known customer already buys. Chris Sacca and Caie Kelley of Lowercarbon Capital argue the remaining risk is technical and can be tested before the first check.

Capital and demand are plentiful in the AI buildout, and the ability to deliver projects is the scarce input. Brookfield Asset Management CEO Connor Teskey argues that large power buyers now favor a few scale operators who can secure land, grid access, and power.

Private credit BDCs hold $15.4 billion of loans maturing by June 2027, marked at 87% of par. PRISM Private Markets data shows 111 of the 598 borrowers already held below 80% of cost.

High-severity PIK flips at private credit BDCs fell to 47 borrowers in Q2 2026, from 100 at year-end 2025. PRISM Private Markets data shows reversions to cash pay outnumbering new flips for two straight quarters.

Software borrowers led all sectors in cash-to-PIK switches at private credit BDCs in Q2, with 28 names flipping. PRISM Private Markets data shows Exabeam and Diligent moving to PIK at several lenders at once ahead of Q3 filings.

Ares raised $31.0 billion in the quarter, more than half outside its Credit Group, even as credit deployment fell 33%. Michael Arougheti and Jarrod Phillips of Ares argue that several scaled businesses now carry the firm's growth rather than any single strategy.