2025 Credit Outlook: Back to Basics
Private credit’s extraordinary growth has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, some of it hyperbolic and misplaced. But it is curious that so much of that growth has been concentrated in strategies inordinately dependent on sponsored M&A activity for deal flow. Competitive dynamics of the past year suggest that future growth may be focused on less penetrated spaces, like investment grade and asset-backed finance, where we believe private credit’s historic return premium can be more reliably accessed.
2025 Credit Outlook: ‘Back to Basics’ is a Global Insights report from Jason Thomas, Head of Global Research & Investment Strategy, and Mark Jenkins, Head of Global Credit.
Read 2025 Credit Outlook: ‘Back to Basics’
ABOUT THE EXPERTS
Jason Thomas is the Head of Global Research & Investment Strategy at Carlyle, focusing on economic and statistical analysis of Carlyle portfolio data, asset prices, and broader trends in the global economy.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Thomas served on the White House staff as Special Assistant to the President and Director for Policy Development at the National Economic Council. In this capacity, Mr. Thomas acted as the primary adviser to the President for public finance.
Mr. Thomas received a BA from Claremont McKenna College and an MS and PhD in finance from George Washington University, where he studied as a Bank of America Foundation, Leo and Lillian Goodwin Foundation, and School of Business Fellow.
Mr. Thomas has earned the chartered financial analyst designation and is a Financial Risk Manager certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals.
Mark Jenkins is Head of Carlyle Global Credit. He is also a member of Carlyle's Leadership Committee. He is based in New York.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Jenkins was a Senior Managing Director at CPPIB and responsible for leading CPPIB’s Global Private Investment group. He was Chair of the Credit Investment Committee, Chair of the Private Investments Committee and also managed the portfolio value creation group. While at CPPIB, Mr. Jenkins founded CPPIB Credit Investments, which is a multi-strategy platform making direct principal credit investments. He also led CPPIB’s acquisition and oversight of Antares Capital and the subsequent expansion in middle market lending. Prior to CPPIB, he was Managing Director, Co-Head of Leveraged Finance Origination and Execution for Barclays Capital in New York. Before Barclays, Mr. Jenkins worked for 11 years at Goldman Sachs & Co. in senior positions within the Fixed Income and Financing groups in New York.
Mr. Jenkins earned a B.Comm degree from Queen’s University. He served on the boards of Wilton Re, Teine Energy, Antares Capital and Merchant Capital Solutions.