Davis Polk partner Michael Hong was quoted in Buyouts discussing how emerging managers are differentiating themselves in the private credit industry, as part of the publication’s 2026 Emerging Manager Survey.

The article highlightedthat there is no shortage of investment professionals seeking to launch their own fund, despite challenges to attracting new investors.

Michael said that for new managers in private credit, fundraising is heavy-going. “It’s a saturated market, and there [are] a lot of established managers raising capital,” he said. “Emerging managers really have to offer something differentiated and the historical returns to support a fundraise.”

Across asset classes, new managers seeking to differentiate themselves “are being a lot more creative about how they tell their story compared to their established peers,” he added.

Michael also noted that he has been seeing the rise of a new model in which registered investment advisers with their own client base agree to an exclusivity deal with an independent sponsor and receive first look at transactions in return for financing.

“A few asset managers have developed a track record of picking and choosing emerging managers really well and backing them,” he explained. 

“New managers chart a differentiated course,” Buyouts (March 30, 2026) (subscription required)

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