Private Placement REITs, BDCs Surge Past $85B in Combined NAV 

Private placement REITs recorded an aggregate NAV of $21.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025, up 11% from the prior quarter, while private placement BDCs saw a 13% increase, reaching $63.5 billion. Fundraising remained vigorous, with REITs raising $2.1 billion and BDCs securing $4.4 billion in the quarter, according to investment banking firm Robert A. Stanger & Co., Inc.’s Q1 2025 Stanger Privates report. 

“Private placement REITs and BDCs are steadily capturing a larger and larger share of the alternatives market, with private REITs now accounting for nearly 20% of NT-REITs aggregate NAV and private BDCs representing over 37% of NT-BDCs,” said Kevin T. Gannon, Chairman and CEO of Robert A. Stanger & Company, Inc. 

Top performers in the quarter included mortgage NAV REITs, with Principal Credit Real Estate Income Trust and Starwood Credit Real Estate Income Trust leading at 2.6% and 2.5% total returns, respectively. Over the past year, Invesco Commercial Real Estate Finance Trust, a mortgage REIT, achieved a standout 10.6% total return. 

“We anticipate that private placements will remain a key focus for new fund launches, particularly following the SEC’s March 2025 grant of multi-class exemptive relief to private BDCs, which enhances their structural flexibility and appeal to a broader investor base,” added Gannon. 

Notable Q1 transactions included Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp.’s acquisition of Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp. II and the acquisition of Carlyle Secured Lending III by the NASDAQ-listed Carlyle Secured Lending. 

Robert A. Stanger & Co., Inc., founded in 1978, specializes in investment banking, financial advisory, fairness opinion and asset and securities valuation services to partnerships, real estate investment trusts and real estate advisory and management companies in support of strategic planning, capital formation and financings, mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, and consolidations.