•BlackRock's $26 billion HPS Corporate Lending Fund (HLEND) capped client withdrawals due to a spike in redemption requests.
•Shareholders sought to redeem 9.3% of shares, but the fund limited repurchases to 5%, reflecting growing retail anxiety in the $1.8 trillion private credit industry.
•The firm stated the cap is a "foundational" liquidity management feature to prevent structural mismatch with long-term private credit loans.
•This follows a trend, with Blackstone Inc.'s fund seeing 7.9% tender requests and Blue Owl Capital allowing 15% withdrawals from a tech fund.
•Private credit funds are bracing for more redemption requests amid concerns over lending practices and AI exposure.
