Asset-backed finance (ABF)--a form of private lending secured by pools of contractual assets, such as credit card payments, leases or mortgages--continues to grow in importance among investors. It helps finance a wide range of economic activities, from transportation to consumer lending, and can play a key role supplementing traditional private credit allocations in a portfolio. 

We recently spoke with Christopher Gray, Managing Director in Oaktree’s ABF strategy, to better understand the opportunities within private ABF and how Oaktree approaches the range of available sectors to source attractive opportunities--with risk under control. He also offered his thoughts on the differences between public asset backed securities and private ABF, along with other aspects of the strategy.