New U.S. and Europe S&P Lincoln Senior Debt Index Series Provides Investors with Independent Benchmarks for Manager Performance and Market Risk

Lincoln International, a global investment banking advisory firm, today announced a strategic collaboration with S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) to launch the S&P Lincoln Senior Debt Index Series, which includes the U.S. S&P Lincoln Senior Debt Index and Europe S&P Lincoln Senior Debt Index. These indices, which will first be reported quarterly and then monthly before the end of 2026, address a critical need of private markets participants: transparent, independently calculated benchmarks that can be used to evaluate performance of private credit investments.

The indices combine Lincoln International’s private market insights with S&P DJI's expertise in index design, administration, and governance. By tracking the fair value of direct lending investments across fund clients in the U.S. and Europe, the indices provide asset managers, limited partners, plan sponsors, other institutional investors and retail investors with a credible reference point for benchmarking returns, assessing risk profiles and making informed allocation decisions.

“Private credit has grown into a multi-trillion-dollar asset class, but institutional investors have historically lacked the transparent, rules-based benchmarks that exist in public markets,” said Rob Brown, CEO of Lincoln International. “Through the launch of this collaboration, we have an opportunity to bring our comprehensive private market data to a much larger universe, further bolstering our position as the leading global investment bank serving the private capital markets.”

The collaboration between Lincoln International and S&P DJI enables critical use cases for a wide range of private market participants:

• Asset Managers: Fund managers now have a third-party benchmark to reference when presenting performance data to current and prospective investors.
• Institutional & Retail Investors: Investors and allocators can now compare manager performance against a recognized independent benchmark, moving beyond anecdotal or manager-provided data.
• Research Institutions: Private market researchers and analysts will gain better visibility into directional trends of the direct lending market, including changes in pricing, and shifts in the return profile across an array of industries and size categories.

“As the push for retail capital continues to accelerate, private market participants are demanding greater transparency and frequency of data on what has historically been an opaque and illiquid asset class,” added Ron Kahn, Managing Director and Co-Head of Lincoln International’s Valuation and Opinions Group. “This benchmark equips fund managers, allocators and individual investors with a common language for understanding what’s happening in private lending markets.”

“Private markets are experiencing a transformative moment, driven by increased participation and demand for better insight,” said Catherine Clay, Chief Executive Officer at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "As private markets continue to mature, the need for trusted data and benchmarks is becoming more pronounced. We're excited about the opportunity to extend our expertise into this space in collaboration with Lincoln International, bringing consistency to a market that is increasingly important to investors worldwide."

The launch of the U.S. and Europe S&P Lincoln Senior Debt Index Series is an extension of Lincoln International’s work to build the most comprehensive view of the private capital market bringing unparalleled insights and perspectives from the wealth of data it analyzes. Lincoln International will continue to publish the Lincoln Private Market Index, produce quarterly insights and webinars on the state of the private markets delivering the interpretation, implications and nuanced commentary that help clients and investors understand what the data means for their portfolios.

To learn more about the U.S. and Europe S&P Lincoln Senior Debt Index Series, visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/index-family/private-markets/private-credit/#overview. For more information about Lincoln International's private markets indices and data offerings, visit www.lincolninternational.com. LINCOLN SENIOR DEBT INDEX, LINCOLN PRIVATE MARKET INDEX and LINCOLN INTERNATIONAL are service marks owned by Lincoln International, LP.

About Lincoln International

Lincoln International is a trusted investment banking advisor to business owners and senior executives of leading private equity firms and their portfolio companies and to public and privately held companies around the world. Our services include mergers and acquisitions advisory, private funds and capital markets advisory, and valuations and fairness opinions. As one tightly integrated team of more than 1,300 professionals in more than 25 offices in 16 countries, we offer an unobstructed perspective on the global private capital markets, backed by superb execution and a deep commitment to client success. With extensive industry knowledge and relationships, timely market intelligence and strategic insights, we forge deep, productive client relationships that endure for decades. Connect with us to learn more at www.lincolninternational.com.

The U.S. S&P Lincoln and Europe S&P Lincoln Senior Debt Indices are a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“S&P DJI”) and Lincoln Partners Advisors LLC and its affiliates. S&P®, S&P 500®, SPX®, SPY®, US 500™, The 500™, iBoxx®, iTraxx® and CDX® are trademarks of S&P Global, Inc. or its affiliates (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). Lincoln International and the Lincoln Senior Debt Index are service marks owned by Lincoln International, LP and its affiliated entities. Investment products based on S&P DJI’s indices are not sponsored or sold by S&P DJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s) nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the indices.

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