The Largest Private Credit Funds and How They've Performed

Data sourced from Dakota Private Markets, the private fund performance platform powered by Dakota. Learn More | Request Access

Dakota Private Markets tracks performance on over 16,000+ funds across private equity, private credit, real assets, and real estate, giving investment firms the data and intelligence needed to benchmark managers, monitor vintage-year performance, and identify capital formation trends.

The five largest closed-end private credit funds in Dakota Marketplace raised about $85.6 billion between them, and every one is closed to new capital. Ares Capital Europe VI leads at $17.7 billion, followed by Ares European Credit Strategies Fund X (T), Hayfin Direct Lending Fund V, HPS Strategic Investment Partners V, and Oaktree Opportunities Fund XII at $16.0 billion.

These are drawdown funds: investors commit up front, the manager calls capital over several years, and cash comes back as loans repay. Performance is reported as net IRR, TVPI and DPI, and this is the structure institutional allocators still use for most private credit commitments.

This post ranks the funds by capital raised, shows the net IRR Dakota Marketplace holds on each.

The Top 5 Closed-End Private Credit Funds by Capital Raised

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The next two in line are Oaktree Opportunities Fund XI at $15.9 billion (2020 vintage) and Ares Senior Direct Lending Fund III at $15.3 billion (2023 vintage). The top five sit within $1.7 billion of each other, so small changes in how a fund counts feeders, levered sleeves, or currency conversion can reorder the list.

The list mixes strategies. Ares Capital Europe VI and Hayfin Direct Lending Fund V are direct lending funds by name, while Oaktree's Opportunities series targets opportunistic credit. Two of the five are European-focused lenders by name, and three of the five are 2022 to 2024 vintages still deploying or early in harvest.

How the Private Credit Funds Have Performed

Across closed-end private credit performance records in Dakota Marketplace at 1Q26, the median net IRR is 9.1%, the upper quartile starts at 13.0%, and the lower quartile ends at 6.1%. Median TVPI is 1.22x and median DPI is 0.57x. Four of the five largest funds have a net IRR on file; two sit above the cohort's upper-quartile line.

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The Three Funds Behind the Numbers

Ares Capital Europe VI (2022 vintage)

Ares Management closed this fund at $17.7 billion, the largest closed-end private credit fund in Dakota Marketplace. Dakota shows a 16.2% net IRR as of 1Q26, against a 11.3% median for 2022 vintage private credit funds.

At 16.2%, the fund sits 4.9 points above the 2022 vintage median and above the 13.0% upper-quartile line for the full closed-end cohort.

Public pension investors on record include CalPERS at $1.3 billion, Virginia Retirement System at $150 million, and Maine PERS at $157.5 million across two commitments. Dakota classifies the fund as direct lending.

HPS Strategic Investment Partners V (2021 vintage)

HPS Investment Partners closed this fund at $17.0 billion. Dakota shows a 12.3% net IRR as of 2Q26, against a 9.75% median for 2021 vintage private credit funds.

At 12.3%, the fund is 2.6 points above the 2021 vintage median but below the 13.0% upper-quartile line for the full cohort.

Virginia Retirement System holds $350 million, Border to Coast (a UK local government pension pool) $276 million, Minnesota State Board of Investments $100 million, and San Francisco ERS $75 million. Dakota classifies the fund as mezzanine.

Oaktree Opportunities Fund XII (2024 vintage)

Brookfield Oaktree closed this fund at $16.0 billion. Dakota shows a 17.0% net IRR as of 1Q26, against a 9.34% median for 2024 vintage private credit funds.

At 17.0%, the fund is 7.7 points above the 2024 vintage median and has the highest net IRR of the three. Early-life IRRs rest on little cash returned, so treat the gap as an early read and not a verdict on final returns.

As a 2024 vintage, the fund is still early in deployment, so its IRR can move substantially as capital is drawn. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds holds $300 million and Virginia Retirement System $150 million. Dakota classifies the fund as special situations.

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What This Means for Fund Managers and Allocators

The largest closed-end funds clear the cohort median by a wide margin where data exists. Oaktree XII and Ares Capital Europe VI both sit above the 13.0% upper-quartile line, and HPS SIP V is 3.2 points above the median. For managers raising a competing fund, the benchmark to beat is a 9.1% median with a top-quartile cutoff near 13%, not the headline numbers of the largest vehicles.

Scale also concentrates capital. The five funds above hold $85.6 billion, and each raised more than $16 billion, which is more than most managers will ever target. Allocators writing large checks to these funds often have smaller allocations left for emerging and mid-sized managers, so the pitch has to explain what the large funds cannot do, such as smaller deal sizes or niche sectors.

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