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Metrics launches asset-backed fund in H2 2026, pivoting from compressed corporate credit as deal flow falls **19%** year-over-year.
A$14.3 billion
across Australian private credit
A$750 million
first close by year-end
6.8%
net in the twelve months through March 2026 and…
11%
quarter-over-quarter as allocators rotate toward higher-yielding strategies
Metrics Credit Partners, managing A$14.3 billion across Australian private credit, confirmed it will launch a dedicated asset-backed lending fund in the second half of 2026. The vehicle marks the firm's first formal departure from its core corporate direct lending book and follows eighteen months of rising competition in mid-market sponsor-backed deals.
The fund will target equipment finance, trade receivables, and inventory-backed facilities for Australian corporates outside traditional bank appetite. Metrics declined to specify initial target size but market participants familiar with the firm's capital-raising velocity estimate a A$500 million to A$750 million first close by year-end. The structure will sit outside the flagship Metrics Direct Income Fund, which returned 6.8% net in the twelve months through March 2026 and has seen redemption requests climb 11% quarter-over-quarter as allocators rotate toward higher-yielding strategies.
The move follows pattern shifts across Australia's private credit market. Deal count in the A$25 million to A$150 million mid-market segment fell 19% year-over-year through Q1 2026, according to Preqin, while asset-backed transaction volume rose 34% over the same period. Metrics has written A$1.1 billion in new corporate loans since January 2025, down from A$1.6 billion in the prior twelve months. Pricing compression in sponsor-backed buyouts—average spreads tightened 80 basis points since mid-2025—has pushed several non-bank lenders toward collateral-heavy structures where documentation advantages still generate SOFR+650 to SOFR+950 unlevered returns.
Allocators should watch Metrics' ability to staff the new vertical without cannibalizing its corporate underwriting team. Asset-backed lending requires different skill sets—collateral monitoring, equipment valuation, supply-chain due diligence—that few Australian credit managers have built at scale. The firm has hired three senior hires from Westpac's asset finance division since February, but origination in this segment depends on broker and dealer networks Metrics does not currently control. First-close timing in Q3 or Q4 will signal whether anchor commitments from existing LPs materialize or whether the firm must broaden its capital base into family offices and smaller institutions less familiar with its track record.
The asset-backed fund will compete directly with Metrics' own corporate book for LP dollars at a moment when the parent vehicle faces modest outflows. That internal capital allocation tension—combined with untested origination channels—makes the next six months a live test of whether Australia's largest private credit manager can successfully operate two distinct credit strategies under one roof.
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For the principal
Monitor Metrics' Q3 capital-raising progress; bifurcated strategy could dilute focus or unlock uncorrelated return streams worth 150-200bps premium.
For the operator
Track hire velocity and dealer partnerships through Q2; asset-backed origination depends on networks Metrics does not yet control at scale.
For the house
Pass on first close; revisit at A$1B+ AUM once collateral monitoring infrastructure is proven and portfolio seasoning exceeds eighteen months.
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