The top 20 global private credit fund managers collectively held more than one-third of dry powder available to the asset class as demand for nonbank lending continued to grow.

The 20 largest private credit firms by private credit assets under management held a total of $138.14 billion in uncommitted capital, or 36% of the $385.28 billion in global private credit dry powder, according to Preqin and S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Current dry powder estimates were unavailable for two of the top 20 firms, so their actual share of private credit dry powder may be higher.

Private credit is a catchall term for an array of nonbank lending strategies, but direct loans to private equity portfolio companies are central to the industry's business. If falling interest rates and pent-up demand for dealmaking push private equity-backed transaction activity higher in 2025, as expected, then private credit managers should also be busier, said Chris Lund, managing director and co-portfolio manager of institutional portfolios for middle-market lender Monroe Capital LLC.

"We've started to see the long-awaited acceleration in deal flow. I think there's a lot more to come there [in the new year]," Lund said.

The list

Apollo Global Management Inc. was the largest private credit fund manager globally, with $480 billion in private credit AUM, according to the latest available data from Preqin. And it plans to get a lot bigger.

Apollo CEO Marc Rowan in 2023 described private credit as the "future" of the asset management industry, and it figures significantly into the firm's plan to double the size of its business by the end of the decade.

Like Apollo, most of the top private credit managers have roots in private equity. All four of the largest publicly traded private equity firms — Blackstone Inc., KKR & Co. Inc., The Carlyle Group Inc. and Apollo — appear in the top 10.

– Read about a rebound in pension fund-backed deals. – Catch up on private equity investments in November. – Browse the latest private equity headlines.

The US remains the epicenter of the industry and was home to 17 of the 20 largest private credit managers by AUM, according to Market Intelligence and Preqin data.

Ares Management Corp. ranked third on the list for AUM but outshone its competitors on two other metrics. It ranked first among the firms on fundraising, with $104.48 billion worth of commitments gathered from investors over the past decade, according to Preqin data. Ares' $39.90 billion in dry powder was also a list leader.

Ares is the corporate parent of Hong Kong-based Ares SSG, the No. 4 private credit fund manager with $308.60 billion in AUM.

Fundraising outlook

Private credit fundraising has been challenging in recent years as institutional investors struggled with liquidity limitations at least partly tied to slowing distributions from their private equity investments. Total commitments to private credit were on track to fall in 2024 for a third consecutive year.

Lund predicted private credit fundraising would turn around in 2025 as accelerating private equity exit activity returns more cash to institutional investors. Forty-six percent of all institutional investors, including more than half of global pension funds, surveyed by investment manager Schroders PLC at midyear said they planned to up their allocations to private credit.

William Barrett, co-founder of Paris-based placement agent and advisory firm Reach Capital, said the European limited partners he works with currently have a bigger appetite for private credit than private equity. They have been encouraged by the asset class's resilient track record through market swings, including the ups and downs of the pandemic era, he said.

"Overall, there's a big confidence in the asset class from LPs," Barrett said.