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Well-established lenders can prosper as private debt’s performance impresses investors, say Antares Capital’s David Brackett and Vivek Mathew.

Versatility and forward-thinking were the order of the day for debt funds last year, say David Allen, managing partner and chief investment officer, and Bill Ammons, founding partner and portfolio manager, at AlbaCore Capital Group.

The asset class came through 2020 in good health, but investors will ask questions as they look to differentiate, says Tavneet Bakshi, partner and head of EMEA at FIRSTavenue.

David Golub, president of Golub Capital, says he is very proud of the way his firm has risen to the challenge of covid-19.

Private debt managers need to integrate ESG principles into every stage of their decision-making process, say Antares Capital’s Shannon Fritz and Vivek Mathew.

The asset class has historically lagged others but is catching up fast, says Allison Spector, director of sustainability at Nuveen.

As sustainability moves up the agenda, private debt funds can help build a collective approach to ESG issues from institutional investor level through to portfolio practices, says Sonia Rocher, managing director in BlackRock’s European private credit group.

For debt funds with more limited access to managers, leveraging influence at the due diligence stage is critical to responsible investing, says Coralie De Maesschalck, head of portfolio and ESG at Kartesia.

Putting ESG at the heart of decision-making leads to better credit selection and higher returns, argue Theresa Shutt, CIO, and Paul Colatrella, managing director of infrastructure debt, at Fiera Private Debt.

Covid-19 has presented the private debt market with both challenges and opportunities. William Brady, Mei Lian, Luke McDougall, Diala Minott and Jennifer Yount of Paul Hastings assess some of the major developments.