Key Takeaways
- • Australian Retirement Trust (ART), a $370 billion superannuation fund, holds approximately $10 billion of exposure to private credit, according to its chief investment officer Ian Patrick.
- • ART has been asked by its investment committee to closely review the health of its private credit holdings in both Australia and the United States, as scrutiny of the sector has grown over the past 12 months.
- • Patrick acknowledges that private credit has an image problem but maintains that the reality differs from the perception, and he continues to back the asset class.
- • ART previously had exposure to Bathla-related loans, which Patrick cites as part of the due diligence now underway.
Summary
Australian Retirement Trust (ART), the $370 billion superannuation giant, continues to back private credit despite the sector's reputational challenges and despite the fund having held loans linked to Bathla, according to Ian Patrick, the fund's chief investment officer. Patrick acknowledged that private credit has an image problem, but said the reality is different from how the sector is perceived.
ART has roughly $10 billion of exposure to private credit. As scrutiny of the asset class has intensified over the past 12 months, the fund's investment committee has asked Patrick and his team to examine closely the health of those investments in both Australia and the United States. Patrick described the work as requiring him to take on a role akin to a pest inspector, a reference to the detailed credit reviews now being conducted.
The source article, published by the Australian Financial Review, frames the story around the tension between ART's Bathla exposure and its continued conviction in private credit. The publication's full text is behind a subscription paywall, so further detail on the Bathla loans and the specific findings of the review is not available in the material reviewed.
ART has roughly $10 billion of exposure to private credit. As scrutiny of the asset class has intensified over the past 12 months, the fund's investment committee has asked Patrick and his team to examine closely the health of those investments in both Australia and the United States. Patrick described the work as requiring him to take on a role akin to a pest inspector, a reference to the detailed credit reviews now being conducted.
The source article, published by the Australian Financial Review, frames the story around the tension between ART's Bathla exposure and its continued conviction in private credit. The publication's full text is behind a subscription paywall, so further detail on the Bathla loans and the specific findings of the review is not available in the material reviewed.
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