Nuveen has expanded access to its private equity platform for Australian wholesale investors with the launch of the Nuveen Churchill Private Credit Income Fund (PCAP).

According to Nuveen, the fund has already secured early investments from several local wealth managers, including Drummond Capital Partners, Stanford Brown and Morrows Private Wealth.

The solution provides wholesale investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of primarily private debt investments in US middle market companies.

This, Nuveen explained, will be done by primarily investing in PCAP, an over-the-counter investment vehicle that seeks to provide current income and attractive risk-adjusted returns from private equity investments in US middle-market companies.

PCAP portfolio investment strategist Kelly Marty explained that Australian wholesale investors looking to diversify their fixed income portfolios globally can find exposure to offshore private credit markets, particularly in the US.

“The private credit market is now nearly US$2 trillion globally, having more than doubled since 2015. and now rivals the size of the US high-yield bond market,” Marty said.

“As private credit markets continue to grow and become more diverse, the need for scale only increases as the requirement for significant infrastructure favors larger firms with the financial resources to support this complexity. In addition, private equity firms seek to partner with private equity managers with demonstrated scale and experience.”

As of August 31, PCAP had an investment portfolio of more than $1 billion and a portfolio of 230 companies across a range of sectors, including business services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, high technology and construction.

Nuveen head of Australia Andrew Kleinig noted that access to the benefits of private equity has historically only been available to institutional investors.

"The launch of the Nuveen Churchill Private Credit Income Fund is the latest step in Nuveen's journey to unlock the power of alternative and innovative investment solutions to and beyond its established base of institutional investors," Kleinig said.

He added that Nuveen has seen strong interest from family offices, private wealth and high net worth individuals in private markets solutions as they seek diversification, low volatility and attractive risk-adjusted returns.

"We believe Nuveen, through its private credit specialists Churchill and Arcmont and rich heritage in broader private markets investing, has the scale and proven track record to deliver what investors across the broad spectrum need." Kleinig said.