Singapore-headquartered digital wealth platform Syfe is collaborating with BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, to provide accredited investors in Singapore access to its private credit strategy.
Clients of Syfe, one of Asia Pacific’s largest digital investment platforms with over US $10bn in assets, will gain access to BlackRock’s US middle market direct lending strategy, part of a credit platform that currently oversees more than $63bn in assets globally as of 31 December.
BlackRock will be providing marketing exclusivity in Singapore for this particular strategy with Syfe for a limited period. The collaboration provides accredited investors (individual investors who meet certain net worth or income criteria as stipulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore) access to a curated product with exposure to high-quality, institutional-grade private credit opportunities at a fraction of the usual ticket size.
Ritesh Ganeriwal, MD, head of investment and advisory at Syfe, commented: “Syfe’s launch of BlackRock’s US middle market direct lending strategy unlocks access for our clients to products with exposure to high quality, institutional-grade private credit opportunities that are typically reserved for large institutional investors or ultra-high-net-worth individuals.”
Licensed and operational in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, Syfe has customers from around 60 countries, and is backed by global investors including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Unbound, and partners of DST Global and KKR.
Private credit, in this case direct loans made to companies, is an alternative to public debt and bonds, offering potentially higher yields and lower volatility, according to Syfe.
Designed to provide less exposure to market swings, these investments could be a more stable income source. During the past decade, private credit funds have delivered average annual returns of around eight to ten percent, data cited from Cliffwater shows.
Ganeriwal said: “With this new strategy, Syfe has not only lowered the investment minimums to enable accredited investors to access more diversified strategies but has also removed the complex fees and sales charges often added by traditional platforms.”
“We believe private markets are shaping the future of wealth with private credit gaining significant traction in recent years and we’re excited to see the democratisation of such opportunities,” added George Maltezos, head of capital formation team for Apac, BlackRock.
