Russel Pillemer
Australian diversified fund manager, Pengana Capital Group (ASX: PCG or Pengana), has announced a joint venture with major shareholder Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX: SOL or WHSP) to offer Australian investors unprecedented access to global private credit investments.
As part of the arrangement, WHSP has provided $200 million of seed funding to establish a highly diversified portfolio of best-of-breed global private credit investments. Pengana has been building the portfolio over the past year, with the seed capital close to fully allocated.
In the coming months, investors will be given the opportunity to invest alongside WHSP, with the launch of several vehicles, each specifically tailored to different market segments, including advised and direct retail investors, high-net-worth and family offices.
Global private credit has grown rapidly in recent years as institutional investors have sought yield and diversification beyond traditional fixed income and public equity markets. Pengana has a history of ‘democratising’ institutional-grade opportunities for non-institutional investors – having launched Australia’s first and only listed global private equity vehicle, Pengana Private Equity Trust (ASX: PE1) in 2019, providing retail investors access to ‘top tier’ global private equity investments. Pengana now continues this mission, aiming to be the market-leader in providing institutional-grade global private credit to non-institutional investors through the joint venture.
Russel Pillemer, CEO of Pengana Capital Group, said that while opportunities in global private credit have been growing at a rapid pace since 2008, there is a severe lack of exposure to global private credit investment options in Australia. “Many every-day investors aren’t even aware of the size of this opportunity, purely because they have never had this level of access before.
“Investing in global private credit offers several significant benefits for portfolio construction, including diversification, higher yields, and lower volatility. By adding global private credit to portfolios, investors can achieve greater balance and potentially improve their risk-adjusted returns. But in Australia there is an absence of vehicles which are appropriately structured for Australian retail and mass high-net-worth investors.
“We are delighted to have partnered with an investor the calibre of Soul Patts who have provided seed funding to enable the construction of the initial portfolio ahead of Pengana bringing this opportunity to market.”
Todd Barlow, CEO of WHSP said: “We are excited to partner with Pengana to provide Australian investors with a differentiated opportunity to invest in top-tier global private credit. We are highly impressed by the portfolio’s investment strategy, the access to investments and expertise. On this basis we have made a substantial capital investment to seed the portfolio.”
Pillemer also noted that Pengana is currently assessing an opportunity to launch a direct-to-consumer retail offering later in the year, offering a solution for Australians to earn an income on their savings.