Why Smaller Credit Platforms Can Do Big Things
A case for precision, alignment, and the value of saying no.
It’s easy to equate size with strength. In private credit, AUM headlines are often seen as a proxy for performance. Bigger funds, bigger teams, bigger raises, the story goes that scale is everything.
But there’s a different story worth telling. Boutique credit platforms, when built with discipline and intention, can offer distinct advantages. Not despite being smaller, but because of it.
A Market Hiding in Plain Sight
At Garrington, we focus on areas where others rarely look – the underserved middle. Not because it’s less critical, but because it’s less obvious. These are loans that sit in the $1 to $30 million range. They support real companies with real collateral. They’re too substantial to ignore, but too nuanced to attract scale-driven capital. And that’s precisely where opportunity lives. It’s not that these deals are riskier. It’s that they require a different lens, one that values substance over size and structure over spectacle. When you operate in a space that isn’t crowded, you don’t need to chase. You need to choose wisely.
The Math of Margins
In private credit, everyone talks about risk-adjusted returns. We build them. Garrington targets gross yields in the 13- to 14-percent range, with average advance rates typically between 60% and 65% of the loan-to-value of the underlying collateral. These are current-pay, senior-secured facilities, designed not only to protect capital but also to deliver dependable income.
Security matters more than complexity. Tangible collateral, first-lien priority, and predictable monthly cash flows are not buzzwords — they are building blocks.
Why Size Creates Opportunity
Big funds often need big deals. Scale demands it. However, when every deal must involve hundreds of millions, a vast swath of the market gets overlooked.
That’s where we live.
There is growing data to support what our experience has long shown: smaller private credit funds, when built with discipline, often outperform their larger peers. This is due to less competition, more flexibility, and a deeper alignment between borrower needs and lender structure.
We do not need to be everywhere. We need to be precise.
We look at over 1,200 opportunities a year, and close on just a sliver of them. Not because we’re picky, but because we know that just a few well-packed snowballs can go a long way. As the cartoon suggests, we’re not trying to win by volume. We’re in the quality game.
A Portfolio Built for Purpose
Garrington’s portfolio is intentionally diversified. We operate across five distinct lending verticals, enabling us to source a wide array of opportunities while adhering to our underwriting principles.
Every loan is secured. Every decision is weighed. Every investment is designed to contribute to a portfolio that is both resilient and reliable.
Our average loan duration is under one year. Our fund structure is evergreen, offering monthly liquidity and a ninety-day notice period. This is not a closed box. It is an open engine, yielding steady returns and adapting to opportunities.
Scale Without Shortcuts
Each year, we review more than 1,200 opportunities. We fund fewer than 8 percent.
That is not a constraint. It is the point.
In a market that rewards decisiveness, we have built the infrastructure to say no quickly and say yes with confidence.
We do not build portfolios from whatever is available. We make them from what we believe in
Experience is an Asset Class
Garrington’s team brings over twenty-five years of lending experience, including nearly a decade of managing capital on behalf of third-party investors. We have observed various cycles, structures, and outcomes.
And we know that longevity comes not from chasing what’s new, but from sticking to what works.
When You Don’t Have to Say Yes
There is a luxury in being selective. Not because you are idle, but because you are prepared. Our origination engine is wide. Our filter is narrow.
We lend only when we believe the structure, the security, and the situation align. And if they do not, we are comfortable walking away.
That comfort is what gives investors confidence.
As chess legend Bobby Fischer once said, “To play chess well is to know which pieces to sacrifice.” In private credit, the real brilliance lies in knowing which opportunities not to pursue.
Final Thought
We are not building portfolios for headlines. We are building them for durability. For investors who want to understand what they own and why it performs as it does.
That is the Garrington edge. Transparent, collateral-backed, and built to compound steadily — not just in numbers, but in trust.
