Nuveen
The latest research and outlooks in the ProAllocate library
- Private Markets
Private credit defaults 101: Why the numbers diverge
Private credit default rates diverge widely because providers use different definitions—missed payments versus broader "shadow rate" stress measures like maturity extensions and PIK amendments. Advisors should understand these methodological differences before setting client expectations around private credit risk.
- Private Markets
Podcast: Digitization, tokenization and AI of private credit
SUBSCRIBE founder Rafay Farooqui discusses private markets' evolution from democratization to infrastructure rebuilding and scale, arguing paper-based fund administration must modernize. He predicts tokenization will broaden investor access to private credit and alternatives, while framing AI as a practical tool rather than a replacement.
- Private Markets
The core middle market: a structural advantage in private credit
Nuveen's Randy Schwimmer and Peter Repetto argue core middle-market direct lending, with borrowers of $15m-$75m EBITDA, offers structural advantages—lower leverage, stronger covenants, diversification—over larger, increasingly covenant-lite private credit deals.
- Thematics
Re-examining megatrends amid unprecedented change
Nuveen argues long-term megatrends, not near-term volatility, should guide portfolio construction, highlighting AI's acceleration, private credit's structural rise, and diverging climate-versus-energy-transition trajectories as key drivers.
- Private Markets
Podcast: Why illiquidity is a feature, not a bug, in private credit
Gilbert & Cook's Brandon Grimm argues that private credit's illiquidity is a feature rather than a flaw, enabling superior deal sourcing and yield premiums. He stresses disciplined underwriting over default-rate obsession and highlights AI's expanding role in due diligence.
- Private Markets
Private credit defaults 101: The fundamentals
The Lead newsletter argues that private credit default rates vary widely because providers use inconsistent definitions, and that recovery rates—not default rates—better indicate actual capital losses. Rising non-accruals raise questions about where the private credit cycle currently stands.
- Private Markets
Infrastructure private credit — a distinct and growing sleeve within private credit
Nuveen argues infrastructure private credit is a distinct, fast-growing sleeve of private credit with different risk and cash-flow characteristics than corporate direct lending, offering a differentiated portfolio role for investors.
- Pensions
The recordkeeper at the center of retirement innovation
Principal Financial Group's Scott Boyd and Nuveen's Brendan McCarthy discuss how recordkeepers are becoming the retirement industry's central platform, forging partnerships to deliver lifetime income solutions. They argue cost-efficient, portable in-plan retirement income products will see strong growth as sponsors separate accumulation from decumulation challenges.
- Pensions
The plan sponsor playbook : How to meet participants where they are on the road to retirement income
Plan sponsors can lift participant uptake of in-plan guaranteed income by staging education across career milestones rather than front-loading disclosures, using accessible narratives like Bobby Bonilla's deferred Mets contract. Despite expanded annuity options under SECURE 2.0 and 2025 DOL guidance, only 37% of sponsors say they can clearly explain the value of annuities to employees.