7 May 2014, Washington, D.C. – EMPEA today announces the launch of its newly formed Private Credit Council, an advisory body comprised of and dedicated to fund managers that make privately placed credit investments in emerging markets. David Creighton, President and CEO of Cordiant Capital, chairs the group.

The Council is the only pan-emerging markets group of general partners active across the full spectrum of private credit investing. The Council will provide a platform for its members and EMPEA to advance this emerging asset class through stronger connectivity within the industry as well as global programming and research focused on opportunities in the credit space.

Remarking on his appointment as the Chair, David Creighton said “I am honored to help steer this initiative and to work alongside my fellow Council members, each of whom has a wealth of emerging market knowledge and experience to share. Several mainstream institutional investors already have begun to adapt their allocation strategies to integrate the private credit asset class into their portfolios. We look forward as a council to working with investors and fund managers to further develop private credit products going forward.”

The Council is the only group of its kind focused on emerging markets and it will have an important voice in communicating the necessary role that private credit plays in financing a wide range of emerging market enterprises and the benefits to institutional investors.

EMPEA’s formation of the Council reflects the growing investor interest in this alternative asset class. According to EMPEA’s 2014 Global Limited Partners Survey, 24% of respondents expect to begin or expand their commitments to emerging market private credit funds in the next two years, and a further 19% who have already invested in this area plan to maintain current commitment levels.
However, private credit in emerging markets remains a niche strategy for fund managers and limited partners alike. The Council will therefore focus on sharing best practices and strengthening market participants’ understanding of the unique attributes and opportunities inherent to private credit.

Robert van Zwieten, EMPEA’s President and CEO, elaborated on the Council’s launch, “The Private Credit Council is a natural development for EMPEA, as we engage our member firms more closely and our domain has broadened beyond private equity to include adjacent approaches such as private credit. Our vested interest in sustainable economic development in our markets makes it imperative to focus on private capital, not just private equity.”

The Council will initially be comprised of nine leading fund managers who invest across the capital structure beyond pure equity and will expand over time to reflect the full range of strategies within the EMPEA membership, from traditional mezzanine investments, balance sheet restructuring and direct lending to distressed firms and stressed credits on a pooled basis. Council members will also contribute expertise gained from operating in diverse markets, from Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, to the Middle East, China, and Central and Eastern Europe.

The Council will have its inaugural meeting alongside the 16th Annual IFC Global Private Equity Conference in association with EMPEA. The event will take place on May 13th and 14th in Washington, D.C.

The work of this Council will build on EMPEA’s research and programming efforts in this space, and coincides with EMPEA’s just-released original report on mezzanine investing in emerging markets, available here.

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About EMPEA:

EMPEA is the global industry association for private capital in emerging markets. We are an independent non-profit organization. As EMPEA celebrates our 10th anniversary in 2014, we have over 300 member firms, comprising institutional investors, fund managers and industry advisors, who together manage more than US$1 trillion of assets and have offices in more than 100 countries across the globe. Our members share EMPEA’s belief that private capital is a highly suited investment strategy in emerging markets, delivering attractive long-term investment returns and promoting the sustainable growth of companies and economies. We support our members through global authoritative intelligence, conferences, networking, education and advocacy.

EMPEA Private Credit Council

David Creighton, Cordiant Capital (Chair)
Anthony Stalker, ADM Capital
Luc Rigouzzo, Amethis Finance
Anton Douglas, EMCO
Amjad Ahmad, NBK Capital
Benjamin Fanger, Shoreline Capital
Benjamin Edwards, Syntaxis Capital
George Monserrat, The Rohatyn Group (TRG)
Colin Rezek, Vantage Mezzanine

For Council Members’ biographies, please click here.