Private Capital Call EP15: Rick Miller on private credit opportunities amid ongoing uncertainty
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Nov 5, 2025 
Rick Miller, the Group Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of TCW Private Credit Group, shares his extensive expertise in capital markets. He dives into the evolving landscape of middle market direct lending, discussing the competition for deals and the challenge of rising defaults. Miller highlights the current supply-demand dynamics and the impact of spread compression on returns. He also offers keen insights into the potential surprises and risks ahead, and shares practical advice for aspiring professionals in this sector.
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Where TCW Sits On Spreads
- TCW targets a different slice of middle market loans, often with wider historical spread premiums.
- In normal times they expect ~600bp premium, and today see roughly 575–625bps on their strategy.
CLOs Changed Competitive Dynamics
- CLOs returning pushed some larger lenders back into core middle market and tightened spreads.
- TCW focuses on borrowers roughly $15M–$100M EBITDA with a sweet spot of $25M–$75M.
Conservative Leverage, Different Borrowers
- TCW often lends to off‑market, complicated, or non‑sponsor owned businesses rather than high‑multiple sponsor deals.
- They maintain conservative leverage around 3–4x debt/EBITDA and 40–50% LTV.