The Premier Marketplaces for Structured Private Lending: An Accredited Investor’s Guide

By Taimour Zaman, Founder of AltFunds Global

For accredited investors, structured private lending offers a compelling blend of yield, diversification, and contractual cash flows. Yet the proliferation of platforms and marketplaces has made it challenging to separate institutional-grade opportunities from underwritten risks masquerading as “structured” deals. Through our cross-platform due diligence and ongoing dialogue with institutional allocators, we’ve identified the marketplaces that consistently deliver transparency, rigorous structuring, and alignment with investors.

The key is not just access to deals, but access to well-structured deals with clear risk-mitigation frameworks.

Diagnosis: What Separates Elite Marketplaces from the Rest

Leading marketplaces distinguish themselves through:

1. Structural Rigor
   • Actual structured transactions incorporate tranched debt, cash flow waterfalls, reserve accounts, and third-party verification.
   • They avoid over-reliance on personal guarantees or speculative collateral.
2. Transparency and Reporting
   • Elite platforms provide granular data: loan-level performance, historical defaults, recovery rates, and scenario analysis.
   • They employ independent custodians and administrators.
3. Sponsor Alignment
   • The most reputable platforms and sponsors invest alongside limited partners, typically retaining a material equity stake or a first-loss position.
4. Regulatory and Compliance Oversight
   • SEC-registered platforms or those working with regulated advisers offer an additional layer of investor protection.

Leading Marketplaces for Structured Private Lending

Based on our due diligence and investor feedback, the following platforms stand out for accredited investors:

1. Institutional-Grade Private Credit Platforms

• Percent: Offers structured notes and fractional participation in corporate and consumer credit deals, with detailed tranching and third-party verification.
• Yieldstreet: Provides structured private debt investments across asset classes (marine, real estate, legal finance), often with asset-backed security and reserve accounts.
• Directly (formerly Funding Circle USA): Focuses on business loans with institutional oversight and clear senior/subordinated structures.

2. Private Credit Fund Marketplaces

• iCapital Network: Curates access to private credit funds from firms like Ares, Blue Owl, and Golub Capital, with minimums as low as $100,000.
• CAIS: Offers a broad menu of structured credit funds, including interval funds and BDCs, with integrated due diligence tools.

3. Specialty Asset-Backed Platforms

• Groundfloor: Focused on short-term real estate loans with a public-facing, SEC-qualified structure.
• Pipe (now part of Pipe Technologies): Allows SaaS companies to finance recurring revenue streams—investors participate in structured revenue-sharing agreements.

4. Private Banking & Family Office Platforms

• Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management and Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management offer structured private lending solutions—typically notes or bespoke lending facilities—with high minimums ($1M+) and institutional structuring.

Due Diligence Checklist for Investors

Before committing capital, accredited investors should confirm:

• Track Record Across Cycles: How did the platform and underlying loans perform during periods of stress (e.g., 2020, 2022–2023)?
• Fee Transparency: All fees—origination, servicing, performance—clearly disclosed and calculated.
• Legal Structure Review: SPVs structured as bankruptcy-remote, with independent administration.
• Liquidity Provisions: Realistic timelines for capital return and clearly defined early-exit mechanisms.
• Alignment: Platform co-investment of at least 5% in offerings.

Red Flags to Avoid

• Overemphasis on Yield: Platforms promoting “12%+ fixed returns” without explaining structural risk mitigation.
• Limited Historical Data: Inability or unwillingness to share historical default and recovery statistics.
• Opaque Collateral Vetting: No third-party valuation or lien verification processes.
• Unregistered Offerings Without Oversight: Private placements lacking independent administration or custody.

Conclusion: Building a Structured Private Lending Portfolio

The most successful private lending investors don’t chase standalone deals—they build diversified portfolios across platforms, asset classes, and maturities. Start with established marketplaces like Percent or iCapital, then gradually allocate to specialized platforms as you build conviction. Always prioritize:

1. Structure over story
2. Transparency over terms
3. Alignment over allure

👉 Want tailored guidance? Schedule your strategy call now.