Watch Credit

Alexander Campbell · Campbell Ramble · March 12, 2026 at 04:31 · ⏱ 18 min read  | Read on Substack ↗
Summary
Private credit is overextended and positioned to be the source of the next downturn, analogous to the 2001 corporate credit cycle but with the Fed boxed in by conflict-driven inflation. The author is actively short credit across high-yield bonds, BDCs, leveraged loans, and insurance, citing redemption gating, bank markdowns, and growing fraud as evidence that the cycle is turning.
  • JPMorgan is marking down loan portfolios of private credit groups, restricting their ability to borrow.
  • Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater have gated redemptions after investors requested 10.9% and 14% of capital, respectively.
  • Ares Management held a town hall to reassure staff as CEO pushes back against UBS's 15% default rate call.
  • Goldman Sachs reports 146 European companies have effectively handed control to direct-lending funds after failing to service debts; $38B in senior private loans are troubled.
  • Carlyle cannot sell portfolio companies and is securitizing stakes in its own funds to raise capital.
  • GoEasy ($GSY) dropped 58% in a day on a C$178M charge-off and admission of booking payments before collection—a classic credit cycle tail event.
  • The Bloomberg US Leveraged Loan Index has fallen ~6% from highs; BDCs trade at ~0.8x NAV, lowest since 2020.
  • The Fed cannot ease aggressively because conflict-driven inflation keeps energy prices elevated, leaving policymakers behind the curve.
  • Over $200B in private credit loans to AI-related companies (10-20% of total AI debt) means the growth engine is financed by the cracking credit market.
Read time 18 min
Length 18,213 chars
Category finance
Trade Ideas
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Ares Capital is a large BDC; author expects redemption gating at Ares's private funds to spill over to the listed vehicle.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Main Street Capital has outperformed other BDCs but its premium valuation makes it vulnerable to sector re-rating as credit stress mounts.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Consumer lending stress often precedes corporate credit stress; SLM is a satellite position in the credit short book.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Blackstone is the poster child for alternatives industry build-out and carries maximum exposure to a regime change in private credit.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Carvana is a legacy short; author reduced position during a squeeze but remains short.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Insurance sector is a transmission channel for private credit stress to the real economy.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Blue Owl is a private credit manager directly exposed to fund redemptions, collateral markdowns, and tighter bank lending.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Leveraged loan prices are rolling over; BKLN puts are part of the credit short book.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Author uses GoEasy's 58% drop, C$178M charge-off, dividend elimination, and admission of booking payments before collection as concrete evidence of a credit cycle tail event in consumer lending.
Author uses GoEasy's 58% drop, C$178M charge-off, dividend elimination, and admission of booking payments before collection as concrete evidence of a credit cycle tail event in consumer lending. Risk: Company-specific fraud and restructuring risk; further downside if credit conditions deteriorate.
Alexander Campbell Founder & CEO, Rose AI; ex-macro investor, Bridgewater
Author uses HYG puts as a portfolio hedge and broad high-yield credit short, expecting credit spreads to blow out as private credit cracks.
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