PGIM Brings IG Private Credit to DC Plans via New CIT

PGIM has launched its first private credit collective investment trust for defined contribution retirement plans, marking the firm’s latest push to bring private markets exposure into the institutional retirement space.

The PGIM Investment Grade Private Credit Fund of the Prudential Trust Company Alternative Investments Collective Trust will be used within professionally managed retirement solutions, including target-date funds, stable value products and multimanager investment structures. The vehicle is trusteed and managed by Prudential Trust Company and subadvised by PGIM’s multi-sector credit team.

The strategy provides exposure to investment-grade private placements and investment-grade asset-based finance securities, offering retirement plans an alternative source of fixed-income diversification.

“DC plan sponsors are increasingly looking for ways to diversify beyond traditional fixed income, but the structures available to them haven’t always kept pace with the opportunity set,” said John Vibert.

PGIM said the launch is expected to be the first in a series of private markets solutions tailored for defined contribution plans as institutional demand for alternative income strategies continues to rise.

The move builds on PGIM’s long-standing expansion into private markets within retirement portfolios. The firm was among the earliest asset managers to introduce private real estate access into the DC market more than two decades ago.

Today, PGIM manages approximately $264 billion in private credit assets and oversees $57 billion across more than 55 collective investment trusts on the Prudential Trust Company and Great Gray trustee platforms. Overall, PGIM manages $1.4 trillion in assets globally as of March 31.