Muzinich & Co. partners with NAO to introduce Private Credit ELTIF

Berlin, 24/06/2025 — The Berliner FinTech NAO For the first time, an institutional investment strategy from Muzinich & Co. is making an institutional investment strategy from Muzinich & Co. directly available to private investors in Germany and Austria via its platform. The partnership with the asset manager specializing in public and private corporate loans starts with the distribution of Muzinich European Private Credit ELTIF SICAV, S.A. The fund primarily invests in secured corporate loans from European SMEs and can be invested from 1,000 euros via the NAO app.

Private debt: Emerging asset class from a specialist manager

For over 35 years, Muzinich & Co. globally active as a credit specialist and managed 38.8 billion US dollars as of April 30, 2025. The private debt platform set up by Muzinich in 2014 focuses on the lower SME segment. The partnership with NAO gives private investors in Germany and Austria access to Muzinich European Private Credit ELTIF SICAV, S.A.

According to the current scope analysis* Private debt strategies account for around a third of the European ELTIF market volume. Overall, the market grew by 38 percent to around 20.5 billion euros in 2024 — a clear signal of the increasing relevance of alternative asset classes in the retail market.

Established evergreen strategy with flexible access

The strategy of the Muzinich European Private Credit ELTIF is focused on senior secured loans from European SMEs from the real economy — i.e. primarily secured corporate loans that are serviced primarily in the event of insolvency. The fund complies with the updated ELTIF regulation, which came into force in 2024 and aims to give investors better access to private investments and boost the real economy. The fund invests in established, profitable companies from the EU, the EEA, Great Britain and Switzerland.

The fund strategy combines 85 percent private debt investments with 15 percent liquid high-yield components and aims for an attractive return level per year. It is an evergreen with monthly liquidity windows with no minimum holding period: Despite the long-term term of the loan portfolio, the new Muzinich ELTIF offers monthly return options, subject to certain conditions. The fund is thus aimed at long-term investors who want access to private debt securities.

Global expertise meets innovative accessibility

With NAO, former banker and family office manager Robin Binder has set up the first mobile broker for private market investments in Europe, making once elite investments such as private equity, hedge funds and infrastructure accessible to the mass market. “Muzinich's new ELTIF perfectly complements our investment approach of opening up professionally managed investment strategies more broadly — transparent, accessible and regulated,” says Robin Binder, founder and CEO of NAO. “For me, Muzinich is one of the world's leading private debt managers who brings institutional quality and a wealth of experience to our clients' portfolios,” continues Binder.

“We are using our over 35 years of expertise in the credit market specifically to establish another successful European debt strategy,” says Clemens W. Bertram, Head of Wholesale, Germany & Austria at Muzinich & Co. “With our ELTIF, we are pursuing a proven, disciplined approach that has proven to be robust over various market cycles. The NAO partnership enables us to offer this institutional strategy to German and Austrian private investors in the usual quality via a mobile platform. ”

*Source: Scope Fund Analysis - Alternative Investments as of March 27, 2025.

‍About NAO 

NAO is a novel co-investment platform for private and alternative investments. The mission of NAO founder Robin Binder is to liberalize investments and help people build up wealth over the long term. In the NAO app, investors can find carefully selected and exclusive investment options that were previously only available to a small financial elite. NAO was founded in Berlin in 2022 and received the FinTech Germany Award in 2024. The NAO team works with renowned banks and asset managers such as Baader Bank, BNP Paribas AM, Chartered Investments, FERI, Goldman Sachs AM, Moonfare, Partners Group, UBS, UniCredit and Vontobel.

About Muzinich & Co. 

Muzinich & Co. is a private, institutionally-oriented investment firm that specializes in public and private corporate loans. The company was founded in 1988 in New York and has 17 offices in the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia. Muzinich offers a wide range of corporate credit funds in developed and emerging countries and manages 38.8 billion US dollars (as of April 30, 2025) in fixed-interest credit investments. Since 2010, Muzinich & Co. has been one of the investment managers that have signed the Principles for Responsible Investment supported by the United Nations.