ASIC Private Credit Scrutiny: What It Means for How You Market Your Fund

Private credit has been one of the fastest growing corners of Australian investing, and for good reason. It offers investors income that is not tied directly to share markets, and it funds borrowers that banks have stepped back from. For fund managers, that growth has come with a marketing push: webinars, email campaigns, social ads, platform listings and adviser roadshows, all selling steady income from lending.

ASIC has been watching that marketing closely. Its surveillance report on private credit funds put marketing and distribution on the same list as valuations, fees and liquidity. In late August 2026, with several large borrowers collapsing and some major funds limiting redemptions, ASIC warned the sector was facing its first real test.

If you manage or distribute a private credit fund, the way you describe risk and return is now under the microscope. None of this means private credit is off limits as a marketing category. It means the claims that worked in a benign market need to be tested against a harder one, before investors and ASIC test them for you. Here is what ASIC has said, and what to review.

Why is ASIC focused on private credit marketing?

Because the sector has grown quickly, and investors are increasingly reaching it directly.

ASIC's Report 820 on private credit, published in November 2025, estimates the Australian private credit market at about $200 billion in assets under management. It points to growth driven by superannuation savings seeking yield, banks pulling back from higher risk property lending and more retail investor participation through evergreen and exchange traded products.

ASIC's view is that private credit is good for the economy, borrowers and investors, but only if it is done well. Its surveillance found practices that were inconsistent and not always executed well. Some of what it saw may contravene financial services laws, including the obligation to provide financial services efficiently, honestly and fairly and the prohibitions on misleading or deceptive conduct.

Marketing matters here because private credit funds often use complex structures. The report notes that makes it more important for investors to be well informed and appropriately targeted.

What did ASIC's surveillance find about fund marketing?

ASIC reviewed 28 private credit funds between October 2024 and August 2025, covering listed, unlisted, retail and wholesale funds. On marketing and distribution, it named specific poorer practices.

Aggressive marketing

Two retail funds used strong and sometimes aggressive direct marketing tactics, including mass communication channels and incentives such as bonuses for new investors or referral bonuses.

Unbalanced risk descriptions

One retail fund may have exaggerated benefits such as the stable nature of its returns without fully disclosing risks in its PDS or marketing. Seven retail funds described loans with in house labels such as "investment grade" even though the loans were not rated by an external credit rating agency, although they did use disclaimers.

Reporting that may not reflect risk

Across the review, funds reported low default levels, generally between 0% and 6% of the loan book, but defined "default" differently and described loan security inconsistently. ASIC is concerned that this reporting may not give investors a true picture of non performing and distressed assets. When those figures are repeated in marketing, the same concern follows them.

ASIC also described what good looks like. Half of the retail funds rated themselves as medium or higher risk in their TMDs, and their marketing disclosed the heightened liquidity, valuation and credit risks. Some tailored their distribution conditions, and one retail fund banned mass communication channels altogether because it considered them inappropriate.

Has ASIC taken action against private credit funds?

Yes. Report 820 says ASIC had already issued stop orders on several target market determinations because of poor disclosure and distribution of retail private credit funds, and had started enforcement investigations into more serious conduct.

It has also signalled more to come. ASIC said it would continue its surveillance in 2026, including on how private credit funds are distributed to retail clients through direct and advised channels, and would update its guidance to address poorer practices in wholesale funds.

The pressure has since grown. ABC News reported in August 2026 that ASIC was warning of the first significant cracks in the sector, following the collapse of several large borrowers and redemption limits at some major funds. When a sector is under strain, marketing claims made during the good times are the first thing investors and regulators look back at.

That is the practical risk for managers right now. An investor whose redemption has been limited will reread the fact sheet that promised steady monthly income. A regulator reviewing a fund under stress will compare what the marketing said with what the fund actually held. Material that was written for a rising market needs to be checked against how it reads in a falling one.

How should private credit funds describe risk and return?

In a way that holds up when conditions turn. ASIC's own principle for marketing is that it should not mislead investors, for example by playing down investment risk.

ASIC's updated advertising guidance in RG 234, reissued in June 2026, sets the standard for how that works in practice. Advertising should give a balanced message about returns and risks, a headline claim must not itself be misleading, and a warning buried in fine print may not fix a misleading headline.

For private credit, a few claims deserve particular care:

1. "Stable", "reliable" or "consistent" income. If returns depend on borrowers paying and on valuations holding, say so alongside the claim.
2. "Secured" or "first mortgage". Explain what the security is and what happens if it has to be enforced.
3. "Investment grade" or similar labels. If no external agency has rated the loans, ASIC has flagged the label as a concern.
4. Default and loss figures. Define the terms and make sure they match what you report elsewhere.
5. Liquidity. If redemptions can be limited or delayed, the ad should not imply investors can exit at will.

What should wholesale funds do differently?

Wholesale funds are not a safe harbour for marketing. ASIC's principle for wholesale operators is that they should have adequate compliance arrangements and resources to ensure fund units are marketed and distributed only to wholesale clients. Its surveillance also noted inadequate wholesale client verification in some funds.

That has a direct marketing consequence, and it catches managers who assume a wholesale label protects everything underneath it. Open social ads, public webinars and broad email campaigns reach retail audiences whether you intend them to or not. If your fund is wholesale only, your channels, targeting and landing pages need to reflect that, and your verification process needs to be real rather than a tick box. ASIC has also said it plans to make its guidance more clearly applicable to wholesale funds.

What should you review in your marketing now?

Treat this as an audit you run before anyone asks, rather than waiting for a surveillance letter. It is much easier to fix a fact sheet on your own timetable than on ASIC's, and the changes will read better to investors too.

1. Pull every live asset: fact sheets, website pages, ads, webinar slides, email sequences and platform listings.
2. Check each return or income claim sits next to a clear statement of the risks that could affect it.
3. Remove or qualify in house ratings and labels that imply external validation.
4. Line up default, arrears and loss definitions across marketing, PDS and investor reporting.
5. Check your channels and targeting against your TMD, or against your wholesale only restrictions.
6. Stop investor bonuses, referral incentives and mass campaigns unless you have a clear, documented rationale.

Want a second view on your fund's marketing before ASIC looks at it? Talk to our team and we will walk through it with you.

Frequently asked questions

Does Report 820 create new legal obligations?

No. It sets out ASIC's observations and the better and poorer practices it saw. The obligations come from existing law, including the misleading conduct prohibitions and the design and distribution obligations.

What is a DDO stop order?

It is an order ASIC can make to stop a product being offered or distributed to retail clients where it considers the design and distribution obligations have not been met. ASIC has used them on private credit TMDs.

Can we still run investor webinars?

Yes, if the content is balanced and the audience is appropriate. Record the session, check the slides against your TMD and include risk information in the presentation itself.

Are financial advisers responsible for private credit marketing?

Advisers are a key distribution channel for many retail private credit funds. They have their own obligations, and ASIC has said it will look at advised distribution in 2026.

Should we mention past distributions in our marketing?

If you do, include a clear warning that past performance is not indicative of future performance, placed close to the figures and in the main body of the material.

References

• Australian Securities and Investments Commission. (2025, November). Private credit surveillance: Retail and wholesale funds (REP 820). download.asic.gov.au

• Australian Securities and Investments Commission. (2026, June 9). RG 234 Advertising financial products and services (including credit). asic.gov.au

• ABC News. (2026, August 27). ASIC warns of "first significant cracks" in Australian private credit. abc.net.au