This episode is sponsored by Arrow Global

To be a successful player in the distressed lending market, one needs to understand the importance of timing. The current macroeconomic environment offers plenty of opportunities for distressed lenders looking to assist businesses struggling with market dislocation, bank retrenchment and policy uncertainty. However, lenders that look to take a more opportunistic approach to the strategy may not be able to deliver the kinds of returns sought by increasingly sophisticated investors.

In this episode, we speak with Zach Lewy, founder, CEO, and chief investment officer of Arrow Global, to discuss the importance of taking a long-term view on potential targets and the opportunities and risks associated with the strategy.

We also explore why default rates are no longer truly indicative of distress in the market and why lenders who have pan-European footprints are particularly well-placed to benefit from market dislocation.

Philip Sherrill, Blackstone's global head of insurance at the company's credit and insurance unit, joined to talk about why it chooses a "capital-light" approach to insurance investing. In addition, he expands on the growing homogenisation of how insurance investors access private credit, and how the policies they're underwriting influence that – across the globe.

Oaktree Capital Management’s announcement in early February that its Opportunities Fund XII had raised $16 billion – inclusive of co-investments and affiliated investment vehicles – represented the largest fundraise for an opportunistic/distressed debt fund to date.

Brook Hinchman and Jared Parker – both managing directors and co-heads of North America for Oaktree’s Global Opportunities strategy, joined The Private Debt Investor Podcast to discuss the strategy and how a mixture of factors including tariffs, liability management exercises and the path forward for interest rates are influencing decision making as the fund’s investment phase is in full swing.