Global private credit assets under management reached US$4.1 trillion at the end of 2025, up 17% from US$3.5 trillion a year earlier, according to the Alternative Credit Council's latest Financing the Economy report, but the report page shows no Asia-Pacific breakdown.

TL;DR

  • The Alternative Credit Council (ACC), the private credit arm of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), and Houlihan Lokey put global private credit AUM at US$4.1 trillion at end-2025, a 17% rise.
  • Its report page also says fundraising in the first half of 2026 reached its highest level in five years, and that 41% of flagship corporate lending funds use no investment leverage.
  • Preqin separately forecasts private credit fund AUM above US$5 trillion by end-2031. The ACC page gives no regional split, so APAC allocators cannot read their own market from it.

What did the ACC and Houlihan Lokey report?

Financing the Economy 2026 is the ACC's annual study of the global private credit market, produced with investment bank Houlihan Lokey. The ACC says private credit AUM grew from US$3.5 trillion to US$4.1 trillion over 2025. AUM, or assets under management, here means the capital that private credit managers oversee, including money already lent and capital committed but not yet deployed.

How does it compare with last year's edition?

The 2025 edition, reported by Investment Executive on 23 December 2025, put end-2024 AUM at US$3.5 trillion, up 17% from end-2023. That edition said the United States held 65% of AUM, institutions supplied 76% of capital and high-net-worth investors 24%, and about 80% of committed capital sat in closed-ended structures. It did not mention Asia. Those are last year's figures, and this year's page does not say whether the mix has changed.

How does it compare with Preqin's forecast?

Preqin's Private Markets in 2031 report, dated 21 October 2026, forecasts private credit fund AUM surpassing US$5 trillion by end-2031 and says private credit and infrastructure funds will grow fastest among asset classes. The ACC and Preqin figures use different methods and scopes, so they should be read as separate datapoints rather than a single series.

Why does it matter for APAC investors?

Regional allocators are weighing how much of a fast-growing global market is actually open to them. Our earlier coverage noted that Asian private credit fundraising fell to a 12-year low in the first half of 2026. If global AUM is rising while Asian fundraising is weak, capital may be flowing elsewhere, though the ACC page does not test that. Questions an allocator may want to put to managers include: how much of a strategy's pipeline is in Asia-Pacific, what share of AUM is leveraged, and whether the structure is closed-ended or semi-liquid. For related reading, see https://altassetasia.com/preqin-forecasts-private-credit-aum-above-us-5-trillion-by-2031-what-apac-allocators-should-ask/ and https://altassetasia.com/asian-private-credit-fundraising-falls-to-a-12-year-low-in-h1-2026-what-apac-investors-should-ask/ and https://altassetasia.com/jica-commits-up-to-us-65-million-to-blackrocks-gip-emerging-asia-infrastructure-credit-fund/ and, from our sister site, https://asiafamilyofficehub.com/why-asian-family-offices-are-eyeing-private-credit-and-secondaries-what-a-summit-panel-and-ubs-data-say/

What is not confirmed?

The AIMA page does not state a publication date, a survey sample size or a methodology, and it gives no Asia-Pacific figures. The US$4.1 trillion figure rests on the ACC page alone, as we could not locate an independent report of the 2026 edition. This article is information, not investment advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Alternative Credit Council?

It is the private credit affiliate of AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, and publishes the annual Financing the Economy study with Houlihan Lokey.

How big is the global private credit market?

The ACC puts it at US$4.1 trillion of AUM at end-2025, up 17% from US$3.5 trillion at end-2024.

Does the report break out Asia-Pacific?

The report page does not show any Asia-Pacific figures. Allocators would need the full report or manager data for a regional view.

Sources and Method

Based on the AIMA page for Financing the Economy 2026 (https://www.aima.org/compass/insights/private-credit/financing-the-economy-2026.html), Investment Executive's report on the 2025 edition dated 23 December 2025 (https://www.investmentexecutive.com/news/research-and-markets/global-private-credit-market-reaches-us3-5-trillion-aum-threshold-report/) and the Preqin Private Markets in 2031 page (https://www.preqin.com/insights/research/reports/private-markets-in-2031). Forecasts are attributed to Preqin.