A challenging year for private credit isn’t denting demand for alternative investments, according to Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Retail investors flooded into private credit in recent years only to stage a hasty retreat in early 2026. Concerns about software loans led to a surge in redemption requests in semi-liquid, private credit business development companies. Some funds began limiting withdrawals, while Blue Owl Capital paused its regular quarterly liquidity payments in its U.S. retail-focused fund in February in an effort to stem the outflows. Yet a new survey by Goldman Sachs found that 93% of current alternative owners were still happy with their investments and 97% said the investments have performed better than, or as they expected. Some 56% who knew about private credit headlines said there was no change in their view on alternatives, while 30% said it made them more cautious and 14% said their view was more positive. Goldman surveyed 1,000 U.S.-based high-net-worth investors, who have at least $1 million of investable assets, and ultra-high-net-worth investors, who have at least $30 million of investable assets. The polling took place between June 29 and July 31. “What you see is the investors that have familiarity, that have more of the education, are the ones that are unfazed,” said Kristin Olson, Goldman’s global head of alternatives for wealth. The survey provides evidence for “the resilience of investors, and I think it also goes to what is just a secular growth in the desire for individual investors to tap into this world of private investing.” Return to private credit Investors have been broadening out within alternatives to move into private equity, infrastructure and real assets —all of which have seen meaningful uptakes in flows, Olson said. Private credit should also eventually turn around. “The redemption requests are starting to moderate as opposed to continuing to increase,” she said. “I think you will see a return to the asset class over time.” For one, the concerns around software and a so-called “apocalypse” in the platforms proved overblown. Some of that anxiety has abated, Olson said. “Not all software was going to be immediately obsolete.” In addition, investors in direct lending, or floating-rate loans made by lenders directly to companies, are seeing higher yields in new originations. Spreads have also been widening since less capital has moved into the area. “There’s kind of an attractive opportunity right now for prudent lenders to find attractive risk in the credit space,” Olson said. On the other hand, higher interest rates will pressure existing credits if they haven’t been underwritten properly. Retail investors Ordinary, retail investors have limited access to the market, compared to ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth investors. Their options include exchange-traded funds, which also hold public publicly traded assets for liquidity; business development companies, which make loans to companies and trade on the stock exchange; and interval funds, which are semi-liquid. All of the structures have tradeoffs, as the manager has to handle liquidity needs, Olson said. “The further down you go from ultra-high-net-worth to the average investor, the more you need to keep in more liquid [assets] underneath that portfolio, to satisfy the recurring liquidity structure on that fund,” the money manager said. But the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to make access to alternative investments easier for individual investors. The regulator said earlier this month it wants to widen the path to qualify as accredited investors, currently those who have an income above $200,000 for individuals and $300,000 for married couples. They can also qualify with a net worth of at least $1 million, not including the value of their primary residence value. “Those will continue to help open the aperture for the broader individual market,” Olson said. Diversification matters Olson believes investors in alternatives should look across assets, including expanding beyond private credit and into private equity, real estate and infrastructure — although not all are easily available to retail investors. An alternatives portfolio would then sit within a larger portfolio. The ultra wealthy, for example, might allocate more than 20% to alts, with percentages falling from there, she said. [It is] very client specific, depending on their particular liquidity needs,” Olson said. “The reality is that most clients, if you look at the broader individual landscape, are still very low — the overall industry is at low single digits” in alternative allocations.
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Private credit woes aren’t dampening demand for alternatives, says Goldman Sachs Asset Management
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