Deteriorating credit quality and rising defaults have been cited as the greatest risk to the private credit market in 2026 by fund managers.
Responding to a survey by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 53 per cent of GPs sid they thought this was the biggest risk to the private credit sector this year.
S&P’s 2026 Private Equity and Venture Capital Outlooka also revealed that fund managers are doubling down on value creation through operational improvements as they navigate economic uncertainty.
Read more: Private credit faces tougher EU rules under AIFMD II
“GPs are shifting their approach to value creation, with operational improvements now ranking as the top priority,” said Kevin Zacharuk, head of private equity, data & research at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“However, our research reveals that many firms are constrained by fragmented data and limited visibility into the metrics that matter most for driving portfolio company performance.”
Read more: Adams Street: Reaction to AI risk to software has been “excessive”
