Real estate private credit (also known as private lending) has its own terminology. In this article, I break down a dozen or so of the most important terms to know, based on my experience. Understanding the terms can help investors to understand and appreciate an asset class that has a lot of appeal at the moment, since buying and owning real estate today may have more risks than in the past, as long-term interest rates remain “higher for longer.”

For many years, “alternative investments” referred mainly to private equity or venture capital. Both generally did well over a long period of time, as interest rates trended down. Now, “private credit” has become a major focus of both alternative investment managers and investors seeking yield and something that is less correlated to the public markets. In this article, I explain how my area of expertise–real estate private credit–compares with the larger private credit phenomenon.

In this article I explain why I came back to real estate private credit after taking some time off, and what I love about this business.