Nov 01, 2026

Private Credit Tier List

Current 1st year analyst looking to leave into private credit. Haven't seen a strong list of funds on WSO in a while - Can someone please put together a list of the private credit firms and separate them into different strategies (DL / Mezz / ABF / Opportunistic / etc.) as well? Thank you.

3 Comments
 

Here's a breakdown of private credit firms categorized by their strategies based on the most helpful WSO content:

Direct Lending (DL)

  • Ares Management
  • Golub Capital
  • HPS Investment Partners
  • Owl Rock Capital
  • Blue Torch Capital
  • Apollo Global Management

Mezzanine (Mezz)

  • Main Street Capital (BDC)
  • CapX Partners
  • Merit Capital
  • Callidus Capital
  • BlackRock

Asset-Based Financing (ABF)

  • Victory Park Capital
  • Fortress Investment Group
  • Brookfield Asset Management
  • Blackstone TacOpps

Opportunistic Credit

  • Sixth Street Strategic Capital
  • Carlyle Opportunistic Credit
  • Brookfield Special Investments
  • BlackRock Opportunistic Credit
  • Goldman Sachs Hybrid Capital

Distressed / Special Situations

  • Oaktree Capital Management
  • Apollo Special Opportunities
  • Centerbridge Partners
  • Cerberus Capital Management
  • Davidson Kempner
  • Anchorage Capital Group

Loan-to-Own / Control-Oriented

  • KPS Capital Partners
  • Clearlake Capital
  • H.I.G. Capital
  • Lone Star Funds
  • Platinum Equity

Hybrid Value / Equity-Lean Strategies

  • Apollo Hybrid Value
  • Sixth Street Strategic Capital
  • Brookfield Special Investments
  • Clearlake Opportunities

This list highlights firms across various private credit strategies, offering a comprehensive view of the landscape. If you're targeting a specific strategy, focus on firms that align with your career goals and expertise.

Sources: Breaking down distressed funds by strategy, Good credit funds?, Most active credit shops in the market?

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

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