Private credit funds hit by mounting investor withdrawal requests

Across eight major vehicles, first-quarter redemptions hit a record $7.1 billion. That pressure has carried into the current quarter as windows for withdrawal requests close. Blackstone’s Private Credit Fund, for instance, capped repurchases after investors sought to redeem 10% of outstanding shares—double the fund’s 5% quarterly limit. Despite the surge, the firm noted that capital inflows helped mitigate the net impact to roughly 3% of net asset value.

The situation remains similarly strained at Cliffwater. Investors in its $31.3 billion fund requested to redeem 17% of shares for the second quarter, up from 14% in the previous period. Like Blackstone, Cliffwater was forced to cap actual redemptions at 5%. These interval funds, which rely on periodic repurchase offers to manage liquidity, are now grappling with a widening gap between investor demand for cash and the underlying liquidity of their direct loan portfolios.