Credit

Alternative Credit

Alternative credit, also known as asset-based finance (ABF), is a rapidly growing subsector of private credit focused on generating income from pools of asset-backed collateral. This market provides essential funding across the real economy, encompassing credit card receivables, installment loans, revenue-based financings and mission-critical equipment leasing.

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Understanding alternative credit

As the private credit market continues to evolve, we believe asset-based finance (ABF) represents its next frontier. This multi-trillion-dollar market, which may be poised for significant growth in the coming years, provides essential funding across the real economy.

Understanding alternative credit

As the private credit market continues to evolve, we believe asset-based finance (ABF) represents its next frontier. This multi-trillion-dollar market, which may be poised for significant growth in the coming years, provides essential funding across the real economy.

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The backbone of Main Street

While ABF is a relatively new asset class for most investors, the underlying assets are some of the most mainstream forms of credit found across the economy and is connected to many aspects of every day life and provides  vital funding that enables daily activities . Take the purchase of a t-shirt for example, ABF can finance (i) the credit card transaction, (ii) the small business loan to the clothing store, (iii) the equipment that produced the shirt, and (iv) even the trucks that transport the t-shirts to the store. 

Illustrative example: a trip down Main Street1

Hover over the to learn more about how ABF provides vital funding for each daily activity.
BlueOwl_Alt-Credit_Main-Street-Illustration-Transparent-BG
Where you live
Financed by mortgages
1
How you buy
Financed by credit cards
2
Where you buy
Loans to small businesses
3
How you travel
Aircraft financed by aircraft loans
4
What you consume
Machinery used in goods production financed by equipment leases
5
How you receive goods
Providing leases on fleets of delivery vehicles
6
What you drive
Financed by loans
7
1
Where you live
Financed by mortgages
2
How you buy
Financed by credit cards
3
Where you buy
Loans to small businesses
4
How you travel
Aircraft financed by aircraft loans
5
What you consume
Machinery used in goods production financed by equipment leases
6
How you receive goods
Providing leases on fleets of delivery vehicles
7
What you drive
Financed by loans

Understanding Alternative Credit

Learn more about asset-based finance and its underlying segments: financial assets and hard assets.

Asset-based finance

Asset-based finance (ABF) generates income from cash flows tied to pools of asset-backed collateral. While ABF falls within the broader private credit universe, it differs significantly from direct lending—the most familiar private credit strategy for many investors. ABF investments focus on the cash flows and residual value of collateral tied to specific assets and pools of assets. Although the underlying assets have value as collateral, the primary source of repayment comes from the predictable cash flows the assets can generate, such as credit card receivables or equipment lease payments.

As illustrated, we categorize the broader ABF investment universe in two main buckets1:

  • Financial assets: Non-tangible assets that derive value from a contractual claim on their cashflows or ownership rights
  • Hard assets: Tangible assets that have intrinsic value
Private Credit
Branch 1:
Corporate Credit
Direct Lending
Branch 2:
Alternative credit
Asset-Based finance
Financial assets
Hard assets

Understanding Alternative Credit

Learn more about asset-based finance and its underlying segments: financial assets and hard assets.

Asset-based finance TAM3

$11.2T
$14.4T
2023
2028E3

A growing opportunity set

We believe asset-based finance is a large and growing market and can present a multi-trillion dollar opportunity. The expected growth is driven largely by increased regulation and higher capital requirements that have curtailed traditional bank lending activity.

Despite this expansion, high barriers to entry persist due to the specialized underwriting expertise required for these highly structured and bespoke financings, creating potential advantages for established managers with sector-specific experience and existing infrastructure. Notably, there is only an estimate $450bn of dedicated fund AUM to address this $11tn+ market4.

Reasons to Consider Alternative Credit

Asset-based finance offers the following potential benefits:

Current income

Current income stream based on cash flows generated by a highly diversified pool of asset collateral.

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Risk mitigation

Seeks to provide risk mitigation via highly diversified collateral and fully amortizing assets that derisk over time.

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Diversification & low correlation

May provide low correlation to other credit investments via a portfolio invested across asset types

Blue Owl Alternative Credit Platform 5

With 19+ years of investing experience and recognition as Specialty Finance Lender of the Year by Private Debt Investor in three of the past four years6, we believe we are a market leader in asset-based finance with one of the longest and most consistent track records among peers.
$ 0 B
invested in Alternative Credit
1000+
total investments
0 +
active relationships with non-bank lenders
0 %
opportunities sourced via direct relationships

Track record

We have a 19-year track record investing in asset-based finance which seeks to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns by focusing on income oriented investments.

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Track record

We have a 19-year track record investing in asset-based finance which seeks to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns by focusing on income oriented investments.

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Sourcing

We leverage a differentiated sourcing funnel highlighted by our active relationships with over 50 non-bank platforms – more than 75% of our historical investments have been sourced through these repeat partners.

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Tenured team

Our award-winning5 65+ person investment team has expertise investing in hard and financial assets across various transaction structures and underlying credit types. 

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Underwriting & monitoring

Our investment team, including our data science effort, has developed the requisite processes and infrastructure to effectively underwrite  and manage investments through various market cycles.

Our product

Alternative credit

Blue Owl Alternative Credit Fund

OWLCX is a ticker-traded interval fund that provides access to alternative credit, with a focus on asset-based finance (ABF). The fund seeks to generate current income, risk mitigation, and diversify investors’ credit allocations.

Learn more about OWLCX
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Endnotes

  1. For illustrative purposes only. The information shown is summary in nature and not complete.
  2. References to current income, risk mitigation, or similar language are not guarantees of future performance and do not ensure against loss of investment capital or value.
  3. TAM is defined as Total Addressable Market. Asset-based finance TAM, growth of private ABF, and the 2028E estimate reflects market sizing developed by Blue Owl, based on assumptions derived by third-party sources, including Federal Reserve Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States Q3 2023, FRB NY Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit November 2023, SIFMA statistics Q3 2023, Secured Finance Foundation 2023 Secured Finance Market Sizing and Impact Study, 2022 Equipment Leasing & Finance Industry Horizon Report, CFPB Fact Sheet March 30 2023, Preqin Private Debt 2022 data, S&P Global Credit Trends Report October 2, 2023, Ginnie Mae Global Markets Analysis Report December 2023, Interval Fund Tracker Most Recent Quarter Data 2023. MSI research Q4 2023. Assumptions of the underlying include estimated growth rates and product trends derived from the cited industry sources. Actual outcomes may vary materially.
  4. Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, “The Secular Decline of Bank Balance Sheet Lending”, October 2024.
  5. Blue Owl acquired the Alternative Credit strategy from Atalaya Capital Management in September 2024.
  6. Blue Owl Alternative Credit was ranked by Private Debt Investor as the “2024 Specialty Finance Lender of the Year, Americas”. Private Debt Investor ("PDI") is an independent organization that is not affiliated with Blue Owl Alternative Credit (fka Atalaya Capital Management). PDI's selection process involved an initial fee-free application where managers were nominated for award categories and subsequently subject to an online reader poll that prompts readers to vote for a particular firm in one or more of multiple enumerated categories, including Lender of the Year. The nomination criteria are inherently subjective and account for a mixture of qualitative and quantitative criteria, including non-financial considerations. Blue Owl Alternative Credit has provided compensation to Private Debt Investor in connection with sponsorship in other publications but not in connection with the consideration for or receipt of these awards. Award recipients were announced by PDI in March of 2025. Blue Owl Alternative Credit is unaware of any factor that could call into question the validity of its selection as PDI's 2024 Lender of the Year, and the award is not indication of Blue Owl Alternative Credit’s future performance. There can be no assurance that another organization or different sampling process would achieve similar results.

 

Important information

Unless otherwise noted the Report Date referenced herein is as of November 30. 2025. 

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Assets Under Management (“AUM”) refers to the assets that we  manage and is generally equal to the sum of (i) net asset value (“NAV”); (ii) drawn and undrawn debt; (iii) uncalled capital commitments; (iv) total managed assets for certain Credit and Real Assets products; and (v) par value of collateral for collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) and other securitizations.

The webpage presented is proprietary information regarding Blue Owl Capital Inc. (“Blue Owl”), its affiliates and investment program, funds sponsored by Blue Owl, including the Blue Owl Credit, GP Strategic Capital Funds and the Real Assets Funds (collectively the “Blue Owl Funds”) as well as investment held by the Blue Owl Funds. 

An investment in the Fund or other investment vehicle entails a high degree of risk. Prospective investors should consider all of the risk factors set forth in the "Certain Risk Factors and Actual and Potential Conflicts of Interest" of the PPM or Prospectus, each of which could have an adverse effect on the Fund or other investment vehicle and on the value of Interests. 

An investment in the Fund or other investment vehicle is suitable only for sophisticated investors and requires the financial ability and willingness to accept the high risks and lack of liquidity associated with an investment in the Fund or other investment vehicle. Investors in the Fund or other investment vehicle must be prepared to bear such risks for an indefinite period of time. There will be restrictions on transferring interests in the Fund or other investment vehicle, and the investment performance of the Fund or other investment vehicle may be volatile. Investors must be prepared to hold their interests in the Fund or other investment vehicle until its dissolution and should have the financial ability and willingness to accept the risk characteristics of the Fund's or other  investment vehicle’s investments. 

There can be no assurances or guarantees that the Fund's or other investment vehicles investment objectives will be realized that the Fund's or other investment vehicle investment strategy will prove successful or that investors will not lose all or a portion of their investment in the Fund. 

Furthermore, investors should not construe the performance of any predecessor funds or other investment vehicle as providing any assurances or predictive value regarding future performance of the Fund. 

The views expressed and, except as otherwise indicated, the information provided are as of the report date and are subject to change, update, revision, verification, and amendment, materially or otherwise, without notice, as market or other conditions change. Since these conditions can change frequently, there can be no assurance that the trends described herein will continue or that any forecasts are accurate. In addition, certain of the statements contained in this webpage may be statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on the current views and assumptions of Blue Owl and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties (including those discussed below) that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These statements may be forward-looking by reason of context or identified by words such as “may, will, should, expects, plans, intends, anticipates, believes, estimates, predicts, potential or continue” and other similar expressions. Neither Blue Owl, its affiliates, nor any of Blue Owl’s or its affiliates' respective advisers, members, directors, officers, partners, agents, representatives or employees or any other person (collectively the “Blue Owl Entities”) is under any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in this webpage.

This webpage contains information from third party sources which Blue Owl has not verified. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Blue Owl Entities as to the accuracy, fairness, correctness or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this webpage and no liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) is accepted by the Blue Owl Entities for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this webpage or its contents, or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

All investments are subject to risk, including the loss of the principal amount invested. These risks may include limited operating history, uncertain distributions, inconsistent valuation of the portfolio, changing interest rates, leveraging of assets, reliance on the investment advisor, potential conflicts of interest, payment of substantial fees to the investment advisor and the dealer manager, potential illiquidity, and liquidation at more or less than the original amount invested. Diversification will not guarantee profitability or protection against loss. Performance may be volatile, and the NAV may fluctuate.

This webpage is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation to sell or subscribe for any fund or other investment vehicle and does not constitute investment, legal, regulatory, business, tax, financial, accounting, or other advice or a recommendation regarding any securities of Blue Owl, of any fund or investment vehicle managed by Blue Owl, or of any other issuer of securities. Only a definitive offering document (i.e.: Prospectus or Private Placement Memorandum or other offering material) can make such an offer. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Attorney General of the State of New York nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if the Prospectus, Private Placement Memorandum or other offering material is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. Within the United States and Canada, securities are offered through Blue Owl Securities LLC, member of FINRA/SIPC, as Dealer Manager.