Goldman’s Reynolds on scale and the $10bn deal

Growing scale is one of the big themes in private debt as a small group of mega-sized GPs expand their platforms rapidly – both building on existing strategies like direct lending and colonising new areas such as asset-based lending and specialty finance.

Among the largest of these managers is Goldman Sachs Asset Management, one of the early pioneers of the asset class. In this edition of The Private Debt Investor Podcast, we hear from James Reynolds, global co-head of GSAM’s private credit business, about how the addressable market is growing larger still – with $10 billion club deals now within the view of direct lenders.

Reynolds explains why the firm has launched a climate credit strategy, arguing there is a large supply/demand imbalance in that area. He also discusses the blurring of the public and private markets, how managers are reaching out to large new pools of investor capital, why there is room for optimism around the M&A market, and the importance of focusing on underwriting rather than being distracted by the headlines.