Carlyle disclosed Monday that the net asset value per share of its Carlyle Secured Lending fund stood at $15.89 at the end of March, representing a decline of roughly 2.3% versus the quarter before. In filings accompanying its results, the global investment manager pointed to unrealized losses driven by widening credit spreads - in other words, higher borrowing costs - as the primary factor behind the drop.
Separately, Carlyle said its Carlyle Tactical Private Credit Fund experienced heightened redemption pressure in the first quarter. Investors submitted requests to redeem 15.7% of the fund's shares during the period, a level that exceeds the fund's repurchase program threshold by more than three times. The fund's stated maximum repurchase limit is 5% of outstanding shares.
Portfolio composition details for Carlyle Secured Lending show roughly one-tenth of its assets were loans to software-sector borrowers at the end of March. The filings noted that investors have increasingly scrutinized the portfolios of private credit vehicles commonly structured as business development companies - in part because advances in artificial intelligence may pose competitive or business-model challenges for certain software companies.
On credit-quality metrics, the fund reported an improvement in non-accruals at fair value, which fell to 0.9% from 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Activity in the loan book was largely balanced during the quarter: new loan originations amounted to $217.5 million, while loan repayments and sales totaled $216 million.
The filings attribute the NAV movement primarily to unrealized mark-to-market impacts from wider spreads and the shifting interest-rate environment. Other portfolio dynamics cited in the reports include the elevated investor demand to redeem shares in the tactical private credit vehicle and the concentration in software borrowers within the secured lending portfolio.
Summary of key fund metrics as disclosed in available filings:
- NAV per share: $15.89 at March-end, down about 2.3% quarter-over-quarter.
- Redemption requests in Carlyle Tactical Private Credit Fund: 15.7% of shares requested during Q1; fund repurchase limit: 5%.
- Software exposure in Carlyle Secured Lending: roughly 10% of the portfolio at quarter-end.
- Non-accrual rate at fair value: 0.9% in Q1, down from 1.2% in Q4.
- New originations vs repayments/sales in Q1: $217.5 million and $216 million, respectively.