Royal London Asset Management has expanded its private markets platform with the launch of the Royal London Asset Based Financing Fund (ABFF), part of a wider strategy to grow its private credit capabilities and give clients access to differentiated sources of return.
The development builds on the firm’s commitment to providing investors with access to private, high-quality cashflows and diversified, secured lending opportunities not typically available in public markets.
To support this growth, Royal London Asset Management has in recent years expanded its credit management team with specialist hires, deepening its expertise in originating and managing private, secured investments.
With an average investment-grade (BBB) rating, the ABFF will focus on private, primarily senior, secured lending structures. The Fund aims to capture illiquidity and complexity premia, offering flexibility, downside protection, and relative yield advantages compared with equivalently rated public bonds.
Jeremy Deacon, Head of ABS and Leverage Finance, Royal London Asset Management, said:
“Asset-based finance is playing a growing role in the modern lending ecosystem. The tightening of bank lending standards has created space for long-term, relationship-led capital, and we’re seeing strong institutional demand for this type of exposure.
“Expanding our capability in this space is a key step in delivering more private market opportunities to clients seeking stable income, diversification, and attractive relative value.”
Alok Bedekar, Head of Asset Based Finance, Royal London Asset Management, added:
“Asset-based finance is rapidly reshaping the lending landscape, with market growth driven by regulatory constraints on banks and rising demand for flexible capital. By focusing on investment-grade, short-duration assets backed by high quality collateral, we will look to deliver contractual cash flows with attractive relative value. Our approach prioritises capital preservation by sticking to traditional collateral in strong jurisdictions, maintaining an equal focus on sponsor and non-sponsor owned businesses, and deliberately avoiding structures where complexity meets leverage.
“This ensures investors benefit from stable high income, robust downside protection, and attractive relative value”
The new capability forms part of Royal London Asset Management’s long-term ambition to build a leading private credit platform, offering clients access to secured, high-quality private assets alongside its established Asset Backed Securities (ABS) offering.
