Neuberger Berman (NB) has launched a European private loan fund, providing institutional investors access to select, non-sponsored euro-denominated private loans.
The Neuberger Berman European Private Loans Fund II will provide exposure to select non-sponsored, high-quality, 3-10 year private loans spanning various EU jurisdictions and industries.
NB Senior portfolio manager, Pieter D’Hoore, has partnered with local European banks to set up access to loans to companies with strong track records and low debt levels.
The regional banks will originate loans and co-invest as lender and servicer while Neuberger Berman will play an active role in arranging transactions.
The funds will integrate ESG factors during the screening as part of a due diligence process, according to the firm.
D’Hoore said: “The rise of alternative financing methods, moving away from traditional bank lending and co-investing, decreases risk while also increasing the access to a wider pool of financing.
We look forward to securing exclusive deals that will provide much-needed support to the European business community as well as help investors realise their investment objectives”.
Gilles Drukier, head of EMEA insurance solutions at Neuberger Berman explained that given the strategy’s return-on-solvency-capital requirements compared to other fixed-income asset classes such as corporate bonds and sponsor-driven lending, there had been an increasing interest from insurance companies across the UK and Europe for this type of strategy.
“The Neuberger Berman European Private Loan strategy offers investors a diversifying product with unique access to bilateral loans with a moderate risk profile and a multi-layer credit process”, he said.
“The fund gives access to a team with unique longstanding sourcing relationships with an exclusive group of banks across Europe. Our analysis shows that the benefit to many insurance portfolios by allocating to this asset class can be significant”.
