Private credit now makes up nine per cent of insurers’ allocations, while the asset class has declined modestly for wealth investors, according to a new report by Clearwater Analytics.
The research, which surveyed $10tn (£7.6tn) in institutional assets across 60 asset classes, found that private credit allocations among insurers have increased by 110 per cent since 2021, far outpacing growth in other asset classes.
Privately placed corporate bonds comprise well over half of insurers’ private credit holdings and nearly 10 per cent of their overall portfolios, the research found.
By insurer type, life insurers have the highest exposure to private credit by a wide margin, with a cumulative contribution of more than three percentage points over 2024 and 2025. This is more than double the level seen among health or property and casualty insurers, Clearwater stated.
Alongside this, in its 2025 alternatives report, Clearwater estimated that US insurers now account for between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of private credit assets.
In the report, Clearwater noted that insurers comprise a disproportionate share of the private credit market, with the fit largely structural, as insurers carry long-dated, predictable liabilities, particularly in the life and annuity sectors.
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“Private credit has earned its place in institutional portfolios, and the performance data bears that out,” said Matthew Vegari, head of research at Clearwater Analytics. “What the market is still catching up to is the operational and analytical infrastructure needed to manage it.”
While for private wealth investors, they have a shorter history with private credit than insurers, with allocations proving to be volatile, the report said.
According to Clearwater, allocations among family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals grew throughout 2023 and 2024 before plateauing in 2025 and declining modestly into 2026.
The median private wealth investor now allocates around three per cent of their portfolio to private credit, the report said.
The findings come as asset managers have pushed aggressively into the wealth channel in recent years. However, retail-focused business development companies have experienced elevated redemption levels in recent months, with investors responding to concerns over credit quality and the sector’s exposure to software companies.
Also, compared to insurers, corporate treasurers have lower exposure to private credit, but growth has been more rapid, the report said, with companies that held little private credit just a few years ago increasing their median allocation to two per cent.
Read more: Fitch says non-traded BDCs can withstand redemptions surge
