Shares of major U.S. alternative asset managers moved lower in premarket trading as investors prepared for second-quarter disclosures on withdrawals from non-traded private credit funds. Market attention has intensified after a sharp rise in redemption requests in the prior quarter raised fresh questions about liquidity in the rapidly expanding private credit sector.
Apollo Global Management, Ares Management, Blackstone, Blue Owl Capital and KKR each registered declines of more than 5% in early trading, while Carlyle Group recorded a smaller drop of 2.8%.
Redemption windows for a number of key U.S. non-traded private credit funds began to close last Friday for the second quarter, with additional closures scheduled through June. Market participants are awaiting subsequent manager updates detailing the pace of withdrawal requests as those windows conclude.
Cliffwater was the first manager to release a second-quarter redemption update on Tuesday, reporting that withdrawal requests at its flagship $31.3 billion private credit fund increased to 17% in the second quarter, up from 14% in the first quarter.
Wealthy individuals have been active in pulling money from private credit funds in recent months, driven by a series of negative headlines about the asset class, limits on liquidity and investor worries about potential AI-related disruption to software firms. Analysts said the Cliffwater update could push out the sector’s recovery beyond Labor Day, with TD Cowen analyst Bill Katz warning that if subsequent updates do not show signs of improvement, the slowdown may persist through the end of the year.
Redemption requests across U.S. non-traded private credit vehicles surged as high as 41% in the first quarter, a wave of withdrawals that led most managers to enforce the typical 5% limit on investor withdrawal requests and thereby restrict liquidity for fund investors.
A trading snapshot included a range of intraday moves for asset manager tickers: BX-4.8%, CG-5.23%, APO-3.54%, KKR-4.7%, PGHN-17.18%, ARES-4.88%, OWL-4.12% and CCLFX +0.1%.
Executives from top asset management firms, speaking at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York last week, indicated expectations that redemption requests in private credit vehicles would remain elevated through the year. Separately, Switzerland’s Partners Group said on Wednesday it was capping withdrawals from an $8.6 billion private equity fund after redemption requests accelerated, suggesting investor concern about private credit has begun to affect other corners of the market.
Analysts have generally supported the decision by managers to limit withdrawals, viewing such caps as a way to reduce the need for forced asset sales that could further impair fund liquidity.
Context note: This article reports market moves and fund redemption statistics disclosed by managers and market commentators. It does not introduce new data or forecasts beyond those provided in the updates referenced above.