Churchill Asset Management President and CEO Ken Kencel joins in from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after ringing the closing bell in celebration of the firm’s 20th anniversary. Kencel reflects on two decades of building one of the leading names in private credit, emphasizing the importance of long-term relationships, disciplined investing, and staying committed to core middle-market lending strategies through every market cycle from the Global Financial Crisis to COVID and today’s higher interest rate environment.
The conversation explores why private credit has evolved from a quiet corner of finance into one of the hottest topics on Wall Street. Kencel explains that institutional investors are increasingly focused on performance, default rates, credit quality, and the growing role of private credit in retail markets. Despite concerns surrounding liquidity and redemptions across the industry, Churchill has remained heavily institutionally focused, delivering what Kencel describes as strong, consistent, risk-adjusted returns for investors around the world.
Kencel also discusses the current opportunity set in private credit markets, calling today’s environment one of the best he has seen in years for new investments. While speculative “shiny object” trades continue to dominate headlines, he argues that successful long-term investing often comes down to consistency, stability, and discipline rather than chasing the latest market craze. His message is simple: in investing, boring can be very profitable.
