Daily Pricing in Private Credit: A Conversation with Adam Weiss

Private credit has experienced considerable growth over the past decade, attracting institutional investors seeking income, diversification and downside protection. More recently, the asset class has expanded into the wealth management channel through structures such as interval funds, tender offer funds and other semi-liquid vehicles. As these products evolve, so do investor expectations around reporting.

For some managers, that includes supporting more frequent net asset value (NAV) calculations and, in certain cases, daily pricing. While daily pricing remains appropriate for a relatively small segment of the private credit market, it introduces operational considerations that extend well beyond the valuation process itself.

We spoke with Adam Weiss, Managing Director at Petra Funds Group, about what more frequent pricing means in practice, where firms often underestimate the operational effort involved and how managers can prepare for evolving investor expectations.

Daily pricing has become a much bigger topic in private credit over the past few years. What’s driving that?

Adam Weiss: I think it’s really a reflection of how the market is evolving. Historically, most private credit funds served institutional investors, and monthly or quarterly valuation cycles were perfectly appropriate for those products. That’s still true for many funds today.

What’s changing is the growth of vehicles designed for the wealth management sector, including interval funds and other semi-liquid structures. Those investors are accustomed to receiving information more frequently, so, naturally, managers are looking at whether their operations can support that level of reporting.

One misconception is that daily pricing is simply about producing a NAV more often. It really isn’t. Producing the valuation is only one part of the process. The bigger question is whether your accounting, operations, cash management, and investor servicing functions can consistently support that cadence.

From an operational standpoint, where do firms feel the biggest impact?

Adam Weiss: The biggest shift is that you stop thinking in terms of month-end. Activities that were once concentrated around a reporting period become part of your day-to-day operations. Portfolio accounting, reconciliations, financing activity, income recognition, and NAV calculations all happen on a much more continuous basis.

Where firms are sometimes surprised is that the operational impact extends well beyond fund accounting. Subscription and redemption processing, liquidity management, investor servicing and cash movements all become part of the equation. Each of those functions depends on timely information from the others, so the level of coordination across teams increases significantly.

In my experience, the valuation itself is rarely the difficult part. The challenge is making sure every underlying transaction has been captured, reconciled and validated before you calculate the NAV. That’s where strong operational processes really matter.

Data seems like a critical part of that process. What challenges do you see there?

Adam Weiss: Everything starts with the data. Most managers already have access to the information they need. The challenge is that it often lives across multiple systems, comes from different providers and doesn’t always arrive in the format or timeframe needed to support more frequent reporting.

We’ve seen situations where firms have excellent investment processes but spend a tremendous amount of time manually reconciling information before they can even begin the valuation process. As reporting becomes more frequent, that simply isn’t sustainable.

Does supporting more frequent pricing require managers to rethink their operating model?

Adam Weiss: For many firms, I think the answer is yes. As managers grow, it’s natural to reach a point where the operating model that worked for a handful of funds starts to become more difficult to scale.

One thing we’ve learned is that operational complexity rarely comes from a single process. It’s the interaction between accounting, treasury, investor services, portfolio management and reporting. If those teams aren’t working from the same information at the same time, it becomes increasingly difficult to support more frequent pricing.

Some firms decide to build those capabilities internally. Others decide to partner with a fund administrator that already has the infrastructure, technology and experienced people in place. There’s no single right answer. The important thing is making sure your operating model can continue to support your business as products become more sophisticated and investor expectations continue to evolve.

How do managers maintain confidence in valuations as pricing becomes more frequent?

Adam Weiss: The frequency of the valuation shouldn’t change the discipline behind it. Managers still need clearly documented valuation policies, strong review procedures, appropriate segregation of duties and well-defined approval processes. Those fundamentals don’t change simply because you’re producing valuations more often.

What does change is the importance of consistency. As reporting timelines become shorter, managers need assurance that controls are being applied every single time and that exceptions are identified and resolved before information reaches investors. Private credit will always involve professional judgment. Firms need processes and procedures that provide a clear audit trail for how those decisions were reached.

Technology is often part of this conversation. How important is it?

Adam Weiss: It’s incredibly important, but I don’t think technology is the complete answer.

We’ve worked with managers who have invested in excellent technology but still rely heavily on spreadsheets. In these situations, operational gaps eventually surface and become a limiting factor.

I believe technology should automate repetitive work and give teams better visibility into the process. Today, that also includes AI. Used thoughtfully, AI can help accelerate data processing and identify exceptions, giving teams the ability to focus on higher-value work as opposed to manual tasks.

But private credit is still an asset class where experienced professionals make informed decisions every day. The most efficient managers are those who combine strong technology with experienced operational teams. One without the other usually isn’t enough.

Looking ahead, what should private credit managers be thinking about?

Adam Weiss: I wouldn’t focus solely on daily pricing. I’d focus on whether your operating model is prepared for what’s coming next.

Investor expectations aren’t standing still. Managers are being asked for more transparency and more frequent reporting than they were even five years ago. Whether a fund prices daily, weekly, or monthly, those expectations will only continue to change.

The managers who are best positioned are the ones investing in scalable operations before they absolutely need them. That means good data, strong governance, experienced people and technology that supports the business. A solid operational infrastructure enables managers to grow, launch new products and continue building strong investor relationships.