Carlyle European Tactical Private Credit (ETAC)

European Private Credit in an ELTIF Wrapper

Carlyle European Tactical Private Credit ELTIF (‘ETAC’) is the European version of CTAC, the private credit fund for individual investors that Carlyle runs in North America. ETAC is a Luxembourg ELTIF, a sub-fund of Carlyle Private Markets S.A. SICAV-UCI Part II, managed by CIM Europe S.à r.l., the EU-licensed AIFM of Carlyle. Carlyle announced the fund in February 2024 and the first share classes started trading in September 2024. ETAC is a so-called semi-liquid fund with a deliberately loose mandate. It puts roughly 70-80% of its assets into private credit, mostly senior secured floating-rate loans originated by Carlyle’s $211 billion Global Credit platform, and moves the allocation between direct lending, opportunistic credit, infrastructure credit and liquid loans and bonds depending on where the risk-adjusted return looks best. As of January 2026 the portfolio consisted of 116 positions across 28 private and 40 liquid issuers. Of these positions 83% are first lien. The weighted average loan-to-value is 47% and floating-rate positions account for 84%. Fund-level leverage is targeted at around 30% of NAV but may go up to 50%.

Performance and Fees

The early numbers are strong for a credit fund. The institutional Class I-EUR shares returned 9.4% net in calendar 2025, after 4.0% in the last four months of 2024, for a cumulative 13.9% since inception through January 2026. The distributing class was paying a net annualised distribution yield of 8.0%. The retail Class A-EUR shares, which carry an extra 0.8% servicing fee, made 6.5% over their first nine months in 2025 and yield 7.2%. Headline fees are a 1.2% management fee plus a 12% incentive fee above a 4% hurdle. The all-in picture is less flattering: the Class A KID released in March 2026 puts the annual cost impact at 3.5%, so a moderate-scenario 8.8% gross return shrinks to about 5.0% net for that class. Carlyle has said it may waive the performance fee and cap other fund expenses at 0.5% of NAV for two years from January 2026, but both measures are discretionary and can be withdrawn month by month. The 16-month track record has also been earned entirely in an up market for European credit, so the strategy has not yet been tested in a downturn.

Liquidity, Eligibility and Risk

ETAC’s liquidity follows the standard semi-liquid template. Subscription is monthly and fully funded. Distributions are paid monthly. Redemption is at NAV on a quarterly basis, with a 30 calendar days’ notice period and settlement within 45 days. Each quarter the fund will buy back at most 5% of NAV; if requests exceed that, they are scaled back pro rata, and the board can suspend redemptions altogether in exceptional circumstances. Carlyle’s own documents recommend an eight-year holding period and score the product 3 out of 7 on the PRIIPs risk scale. The retail Class A (EUR) share, ISIN LU2912502031, has a minimum subscription of €50,000 and can be sold to retail investors in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Nordics and Switzerland under the ELTIF 2.0 rules, provided a suitability test is carried out. Professional investors across most of the EEA and the UK have access to the cheaper I and M classes. The fund reports under SFDR Article 8 and does not have a sustainability objective. In 2025, Alternative Credit Investor named ETAC its ELTIF of the Year.

1. Fund size is not disclosed in public materials; ask the distributor for the current NAV.
2. Fee waiver and expense cap are discretionary and can be withdrawn month by month.
3. The 5% quarterly gate means a full exit can take several quarters in stressed markets.
4. Track record covers 16 months of benign European credit conditions only.