Of the about $6 trillion in invested assets held by life and annuity companies, nearly $1 trillion is now in private-credit investments.
Distressed Office
Investors purchased 204 distressed office buildings nationwide last year, up from 133 sales in 2024. Sales of these properties, which were auctioned out of bankruptcies or sold through foreclosures and lender seizure, came to $5.2 billion. In the first two months of this year, sales volume of distressed offices was $808 million, up 24.5% from the same period last year.
Funds Flow
In March, more than $6 billion flowed out of high-yield bond funds. By contrast, almost $19 billion flowed into higher-rated, investment-grade bond funds.
Residential Listings
About 2.2% of rental listings on Zillow in November had previously been listed for sale. That’s the highest level since late 2022 when mortgage rates surged above 7%.
Corporate Deals
Global corporate deals valued at $10 billion or more reached 22 transactions so far this year, a quarterly record. The total value of all deals so far this year jumped 29% year over year, but the overall number of transactions fell 17% due to slower smaller-deal activity.
Sector Performance
Ten of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors were down 8.3% on average in March, with the energy sector being the lone exception.
SYY Acquires Jetro
Sysco, the biggest U.S. food distributor to restaurants, hospitals and schools, struck a deal to acquire family-owned Jetro Restaurant Depot for roughly $29 billion, including debt. Under the terms of the acquisition, Jetro Restaurant Depot shareholders will receive $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares. A total deal value of $29.1 billion, including debt, represents a multiple of over 14-times Restaurant Depot’s operating income.
Private Credit
Investors have yanked more than $11 billion out of private-credit funds during the past two quarters. Offsetting that, the funds have brought in $12.4 billion in new money in the past five months through February, though the rate is slowing.
KKR CoolIT
KKR bought a majority stake in 2023 when CoolIT was valued at around $270 million. The firm is now set to make roughly 15 times the equity it invested. The transaction will represent one of the firm’s top returning investments over the past 20 years.
Ultrawealthy
There are about 430,000 U.S. households worth $30 million or more. Within that, there are about 74,000 worth $100 million or more. Over the past few decades, the growth in the number of very rich households has surpassed general population growth.