AXA IM Alts has launched an evergreen private credit fund under ELTIF 2.0.
The firm said the fund will have a primary focus on private mid-sized companies and will enable individual savers to access an asset class historically reserved for institutional investors.
Florence Dard, global head of client group for alternatives at AXA IM, said: “Throughout different cycles, private debt has demonstrated resilience and robustness as an asset class and has been very popular with institutional clients for more than a decade. Building on our expertise in managing evergreen private market strategies for wealth investors, we are delighted to be able to now offer a private debt fund to a retail and private wealth audience under ELTIF 2.0.”
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She added: “The private wealth segment is a key area of growth for AXA IM Alts, and we are excited to further expand our retail offering to the dynamic private credit market and continue to address the needs of global retail and private wealth clients through the launch of this new solution.”
With a focus on direct lending, the fund will predominantly invest directly or indirectly in non-bank loans granted to private corporates located in Europe or in a member state of the OECD. Loans are diversified by sector and geographical area with particular attention paid to the repayment capacity of borrowers. Under ELTIF 2.0, the fund provides an immediate exposure to a diversified pool of existing loans, with periodic liquidity windows. However, the fund is now only available to investors in France.
Christophe Fritsch, global head of alternative credit at the firm, said: “We see private debt as a building block for retail private assets exposure: with its natural ability to repay and a return mostly made of cash interest payments, it naturally fits the evergreen nature of the ELTIF 2.0 structure. AXA IM Alts longstanding track-record in the asset class is now offered to private wealth investors.”
