Hard assets outraise credit by $5.3B in third quarter

Hard-asset strategies raised $16.3 billion in the third quarter, $5.3 billion more than credit strategies raised over the same period, according to Stanger's September 2026 Market Pulse. Stanger published the report Oct. 23.

Across every alternative product Stanger tracks, fundraising reached $134.4 billion through September, down 14% from $156.4 billion a year earlier. Credit raised $42.5 billion, down 48%, while non-credit fundraising rose 24% to $91.9 billion.

For allocators, credit due diligence centers on the programs still raising capital: publicly registered non-listed BDCs raised $8.6 billion through September, down 76%, and private-placement BDCs raised $10.2 billion, down 27%. Stanger names BDCs as the largest contributor to the credit pullback, and real estate and infrastructure vehicles carry their own fees, redemption terms and holding periods to review.

Stanger groups real estate and infrastructure as HALO strategies, defined as hard assets with low obsolescence. They raised $44.7 billion through September, up 39% from a year earlier, and led credit by $2.2 billion year to date. Infrastructure fundraising rose 67% to $22.8 billion; real estate rose 18% to $21.9 billion. Hard assets have outraised credit in six consecutive months, by Stanger's count.

In the third quarter, HALO strategies raised $16.3 billion, up 54% from Q3 2025, while credit fell 61% to $11.1 billion. The $5.3 billion gap was the second consecutive quarterly lead for hard assets, reversing Q3 2025, when credit raised roughly 2.7 times as much as real estate and infrastructure combined.

Private placement vehicles raised $69.5 billion through September, up 10%, while public programs raised $64.9 billion, down 30%. Private placements accounted for 52% of year-to-date fundraising.

Stanger's totals are gross fundraising by strategy, so they show what was raised, not what allocators redeemed, and they do not track whether a single client moved money from a credit fund into an infrastructure one. The fourth quarter is the next read on whether the hard-asset lead holds.