Ken Griffin, billionaire founder of Citadel, has questioned whether wealthy investors truly understand private credit risks amid a market that has ballooned to $3.5tn. The hedge fund chief warned of a liquidity mismatch between retail investors and the long-duration nature of these investments, as many have grown accustomed to immediate access to their funds.

Major alternative investment firms including Blackstone, Apollo Global Management, KKR and Ares have aggressively expanded beyond institutional clients to target wealthy individuals. The industry faces scrutiny as Blue Owl Capital restricted withdrawals from flagship funds amid redemption requests, while wealthy investors sought to pull $20bn from private credit funds in Q1 2025.

JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and Goldman's John Waldron have reinforced concerns about underwriting standards and product marketing. "Not everybody has marketed their product as clearly," Waldron noted, suggesting some firms may have mis-sold products by not adequately conveying the limited liquidity reality to wealthy investors who expect more immediate access to their capital.