When TPG chief executive Jon Winkelried took the mic for TPG’s earnings call last November, he had plenty of reason to declare 2025 as a “breakout year” for the franchise. TPG’s credit platform especially was riding an unprecedented wave of momentum, raising $12bn of the $35bn total capital the traditionally private equity-focused firm had raised through the third quarter.
Much of TPG’s near-record haul had been driven by insurance companies — one of the market’s fastest growing investor classes. Winkelried said on the call that capital from insurers grew 60% over a two year period, accounting for a quarter of all funds it had raised in credit strategies for Q3 25.
To tap into the booming insurance market, TPG introduced a bespoke vehicle designed to “create innovative access points” for such investors. That effort brought in over $600m from insurers for a credit-focused rated note feeder, an emerging instrument that is growing in popularity.
Rated note feeders — which effectively transform equity stakes into rated debt to help insurers dodge strict regulatory capital requirements — have evolved from a niche workaround for elite asset managers into a ubiquitous fundraising tool. In practice, a rated note feeder holds an equity stake...
