Reverence Capital’s New Credit Fund: What Goldman Roots Mean for Private Credit

Reverence Capital is reportedly preparing a dedicated credit fund under the leadership of veterans with deep Goldman Sachs experience, particularly Peter Aberg, a co-founder and Co-CIO of credit who spent 28 years at Goldman, including senior roles in structured advisory and securities businesses, including co-heading the Principal Finance group. His involvement proffers instant credibility and suggests a focus on structured and institutionally-oriented credit investments. [1][2]

The team also includes Steven Herrup, who served for 11 years at Goldman’s Special Situations Group as a Managing Director and Co-Global Head of Structured Investing before joining Reverence. His domain expertise complements Aberg’s, especially around non-securitized and special situations credit. This reinforces the view that the upcoming fund will likely target flexible, higher yield­/return segments of credit markets rather than vanilla investment grade. [1][2]

While the Barron’s article announced the plan, no details have emerged publicly about fund size, terms, or launch date. This is consistent with industry precedent: many recent private credit vehicles are accruing large pools of dry powder but facing slower deployment due to deal scarcity, rising interest rates, and regulatory headwinds. For instance, deployment in direct lending has dropped significantly year-over-year among several managers. [3]

Strategically, if Reverence’s fund proves successful, it could intensify competition among boutique credit firms and push incumbents to re-examine their underwriting, seasoning and structure. Reverence may differentiate via its management pedigree and strong structured finance capabilities, but it must navigate challenges: deal sourcing during a capital bottleneck, pricing discipline as yields normalize, and potential regulatory or macro upside risks (e.g. default risk in stressed sectors).

Open questions remain regarding the fund’s offer to investors: what fee structure, leverage, collateral types, and whether it will target senior secured, mezzanine, distressed, real assets credit or specialty finance. Also, the fund’s sources of capital (institutional LPs, co-investment, private debt vehicles), and whether they expect to make use of synthetic instruments or structured credit enhancements. Finally, market timing and risk management approach will be critical if economic downturns continue or intensify in certain sectors.