Episode summary
ALTSLA 2026: Stephen Biggs of The Mather Group Spoke to Courtney McQuade
Summary
Stephen Biggs says private credit is still a strong asset class, but the recent wave of redemptions reflects an education gap and a mismatch between investor expectations and product structure. He describes the current pullback as “so far a tiny correction,” while warning that some funds exposed to sectors like software could suffer meaningful losses. His broader point is that private credit should be treated as a long-term, illiquid allocation rather than a substitute for cash or public fixed income.
He argues that many investors, especially individuals managing retirement accounts, are too concentrated in public equities and public bonds and would benefit from broader access to private markets. At the same time, he says allocators need to understand lockups, liquidity limits, and how liabilities differ from those of a pension fund. He expects the market to evolve with more flexible fund structures, but says the current setup is still the best available.
On AI, Stephen Biggs says interest remains high, but clients are shifting from simple exposure to public AI names toward a more selective approach. He thinks the bigger winners may not be infrastructure providers, but companies that use AI to raise profits.
Key takeaways
- Stephen Biggs says the private credit selloff is “so far a tiny correction,” not a broken asset class.
- He believes redemptions are being driven partly by an education gap between managers and end users.
- Biggs warns private credit is not liquid and should be managed as a long-term asset, not cash.
- He thinks the next leg of private-market demand is broader access for individual investors with retirement accounts.
- On AI, Biggs says the real beneficiaries may be operating companies that use AI to improve profits, not just infrastructure stocks.
Notable quotes
“I still think it's a great asset class. I think what's happened is yeah, you've seen a lot of new entrance, a lot of flows”
“So far a tiny correction. Yeah we may see some you know some funds that did not do well some funds that are overexposed to certain sectors like uh software”
“this is not the liquid part of your portfolio”
“the beneficiaries down the road maybe companies don't even think about today. It's not necessarily the infrastructure, but the companies that can use AI to increase profits”
“how do we get broader access to more managers uh in innovative structures that works with our clients needs”
How the episode opens
Hi, I'm Courtney McUade with Markets Group here at our 11th Alts LA. With me is Steve Big, chief investment officer at the Mather Group. Steve, it's great to see you. — Great to see you too, Courtney. — So, here we are at Altway. What are some of the hot topics that you're hearing?
Well, it's great to hear from industry leaders and how they're viewing the world and their businesses in light of things that are happening. Obviously uh AI typically a hot topic has been overshadowed I think by the geopolitical events and then what's happening in the private credit markets with many funds seeing you know largecale redemptions. Yeah.
And and I have to ask you, private credit has been a fan favorite for 10 plus years. Based on what's been happening, what are your thoughts now?
I still think it's a great asset class. I think what's happened is yeah, you've seen a lot of new entrance, a lot of flows. Uh I think there's kind of an education gap between the managers and the users, the end users of the products and that's why you're seeing people run for the exits.
Currently many of these funds are still uh you know still solid. We have not seen actual disruption in the software space by by AI which is something to the fear that you know we're going to see more defaults in the private credit space but I think that overall it's still a strong area. Maybe with less inflows we start to see some of those spreads widen and it be actually become more attractive again.
Yeah. Because I've also heard maybe as of last year people were thinking well is it in a bubble? So maybe this is just a tiny correction would you say in the private credit market?
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- private credit
- portfolio liquidity
- private credit education gap
- alternative investment education
- ai investing
Companies and tickers mentioned
- The Mather Group
Watch the episode
Watch “ALTSLA 2026: Stephen Biggs of The Mather Group Spoke to Courtney McQuade” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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