Measuring Direct Lending: Building Transparency in Private Credit Markets
Direct Lending Has Become a Core Segment of Private Credit Private credit has expanded in recent years, with the market reaching an estimated USD 2.28 trillion at year-end 2025 and projected to grow to approximately USD 4.5 trillion by 2030.1 Within this expansion, direct lending has emerged as the dominant strategy, reshaping how companies access…
Critical Fixed Income Considerations amid RBA’s Swift Policy Moves
In May 2022, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was among the last major central banks to begin raising interest rates during the post-COVID-19 monetary tightening cycle. In Q1 2026, the RBA is not taking any chances with inflation, becoming the first major central bank to implement two consecutive 25 bps rate hikes (in February…
What Do the SPIVA Australia Results Imply for Active Portfolio Construction?
Our latest SPIVA® Australia Scorecard underscored the challenges that Australian active funds faced in converting a favorable stock-picking environment into meaningful results in 2025. Among the 831 active equity funds domiciled in Australia that we examined—spanning global equity, domestic equity and REITs—over two-thirds (570 funds) underperformed their category benchmarks. In contrast, active Australian bond funds…
Understanding the iBoxx Tadawul SAR Indices
How are indices bringing greater transparency to Saudi Arabia’s sukuk and fixed income markets? S&P DJI’s Jessica Tan joins GCMA’s Michael Grifferty for a closer look at the trends driving the evolution of these markets and how index-based tools are helping market participants evaluate the region’s opportunity set.
Exploring an Index-Based Path to Leveraged Loans
What’s the role of indices in the fast-growing leveraged loans market? S&P DJI’s Frans Scheepers and State Street Investment Management’s Marcel Benjamin explore how indexing works for leveraged loans and take a closer look at the S&P USD Select Leveraged Loan Index.
The Rapid Rise of Private Credit and the Expanding Role of BDCs
The Rapid Growth of Private Credit Private credit, broadly defined as non-bank lending directly to companies outside traditional public markets, has seen remarkable growth over the past decade (see Exhibit 1). This segment of finance includes direct loans, mezzanine debt and other debt instruments extended primarily to middle-market companies with annual revenues between USD 10…
Index-Based Investing in Islamic Finance: 2025 Review
The Islamic asset management industry has been experiencing growth in index-based investing, and these trends have accelerated in 2025. As of October 2025, assets under management (AUM) in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to Islamic indices reached USD 7.3 billion, a 44% YTD increase (see Exhibit 1)—outpacing the 30% growth observed in the global ETF market.1…
- Categories Equities, Fixed Income, Thematics
- Tags Dow Jones Islamic Indices, Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index, dow jones sukuk index, fixed income, GCC, global equities, Islamic equities, islamic finance, MENA, S&P Global BMI Shariah, S&P Pan Arab Composite, sectors, Shariah, Sue Lee, Sukuk, thematics
- Categories
- Equities, Fixed Income, Thematics
The S&P USD Select Leveraged Loan Index: A Comprehensive Approach to the Leveraged Loan Market
The S&P USD Select Leveraged Loan Index is a new entrant in the leveraged loan landscape, developed to fill a critical gap in existing liquid leveraged loan index offerings that typically focus on the largest loans by market capitalization. This innovative index encompasses all USD-denominated fully funded term loans with a minimum facility size of…
SPIVA South Africa: Key Insights and Trends
How can the latest SPIVA Scorecard help inform investors in South Africa? S&P DJI’s Tim Edwards dives into the latest SPIVA results and the trends driving South Africa’s evolving active vs. passive landscape with Asset TV’s Mosidi Modise.
Fixed Income Funds and Their Fortunes
Global fixed income markets have been buffeted by tariff-related tensions and inflation concerns coupled with monetary policy uncertainty, with many central banks cutting rates, Japan in tightening mode and the U.S. Fed ending its quantitative tightening program. Focusing on the U.S. and Europe, sovereign yield curves in both regions have steepened since late 2024, with…
