{"text":[[{"start":12.75,"text":"The UK’s state-backed pension scheme has committed to invest £450mn in US private credit at a time when investors have sought to pull money from the asset class because of concerns about credit quality. "}],[{"start":26.990000000000002,"text":"The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest), which is the UK’s largest workplace pensions scheme, plans to almost double its exposure to private markets from 18 per cent of its portfolio to 30 per cent by 2030. "}],[{"start":42.980000000000004,"text":"It will deploy £450mn into private credit loans to US companies through specialist manager Crescent Capital, which manages $50bn in assets, as part of Nest’s aim to increase its allocation to private markets from £11bn to £30bn in the next four years. "}],[{"start":65.16,"text":"Nest was set up by the government ahead of the introduction of auto-enrolment more than a decade ago, and the scheme has been an active supporter of the government’s push to increase investment in UK infrastructure. "}],[{"start":77.41,"text":"The defined contribution scheme now manages £60bn on behalf of more than 13mn members and receives about £600mn in monthly contributions. "}],[{"start":90.75999999999999,"text":"Nest’s target to invest 30 per cent of its assets in private markets — which includes infrastructure and property holdings — is far higher than its peers. "}],[{"start":101.44,"text":"Defined contribution pension funds generally allocate about 10 per cent of their portfolio to private assets, according to Hugo Gravell, a workplace pension specialist at consultancy Barnett Waddingham. "}],[{"start":116.17,"text":"Nest’s chief investment officer Liz Fernando previously told the FT that the private assets target was “ambitious” and “we are having to run quite hard”. "}],[{"start":126.75,"text":"Pension schemes in other countries, such as Canada and Australia, have embraced private asset investing. "}],[{"start":133.83,"text":"But even the largest quarter of Australia’s superannuation funds by assets allocated 20 per cent across private market categories — “markedly short of Nest’s target figure”, said Steve Webb, partner at consultancy LCP."}],[{"start":150.86,"text":"Nest’s investment comes as a wave of investors has sought to withdraw their savings from private credit funds, raising questions about the growth prospects of the $2tn market."}],[{"start":163.79000000000002,"text":"Alternative asset managers Blue Owl, Ares and Apollo were forced to close some of their funds to redemptions in recent months. Wealthy investors attempted to pull more than $20bn from private credit funds in the first quarter, according to FT calculations. "}],[{"start":181.14000000000001,"text":"But many funds have refused to honour the full value of redemption requests from investors as they seek to prevent a fire sale of assets, many of which are illiquid. "}],[{"start":192.63000000000002,"text":"JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon warned recently that losses for non-bank lenders could be more than many expect because of weakening lending standards. "}],[{"start":204.62000000000003,"text":"Nest will invest in secured, first-priority loans to private companies in the US over multiple years in an evergreen, open-ended mandate."}],[{"start":214.10000000000002,"text":"“We were looking for the manager we thought had the best underwriting and capabilities and record and disciplined execution in an area of the market that we liked,” said James Turner, senior private credit manager at Nest."}],[{"start":240.59000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776081741_7321.mp3"}