Percent Review: Is Private Credit Investing Right for You?

Item: Percent
Rating: 4.5
Author: Lincoln Olson

Last Updated: Jul 29, 2025

Lincoln Olson

Investor

Reviewed by Doug Blanton, CFA

We mention products and services that we think can be helpful for our users. Some or all of them may be from partners who compensate us. This can influence which topics we choose and how products are presented on the page, but it does not affect our opinions or conclusions.

Yield-focused investors are no longer limited to bonds, dividend stocks, and real estate. Enter: private credit.

Private credit is a $3.14 trillion market best known for its rare combination of high yields, short-term durations, and low default rates.

Because of these characteristics, private credit has become extremely popular among institutional investors.

And now, thanks to the SEC changing some of its regulations, individual investors can also invest in private credit on platforms like Percent.

Here's everything you need to know about Percent, and what you should know before you begin investing in private credit.

Percent review summary

Overall rating:
Asset type: Private credit
Best for: Yield-focused, accredited investors
Average return: 14.30% (on matured deals, as of July 2025)
Average deal duration: 12.6 months (as of July 2025)

Percent is a secure, easy-to-use platform that specializes in private credit investments. It has low minimum investments and fees, plus a wide range of available deals.

As you'll read later on, investing in private credit involves a certain level of risk, so it's extremely important for private credit investors to build a well-diversified portfolio.

And for that, there's no better platform than Percent.

For these reasons, Percent is a great option for accredited investors looking to generate double-digit returns and consistent income via private credit.

Get started on Percent

What is private credit investing?

Private credit is an alternative asset class consisting of privately negotiated loans and debt financing from non-bank lenders.

Many private companies, which don't have access to public markets, must turn to private credit markets to finance their operations and growth.

Most private credit borrowers are "middle market companies" — businesses with annual profits ranging from $25 million to $75 million.

Since their financing is harder to come by (they're too big to borrow from traditional banks), private credit deals typically offer favorable terms, including:

Higher yields: Matured deals on Percent have had an average annualized interest rate of 14.30%, though current deals have an average weighted APY of 16.53%.
Shorter durations: The average term length on Percent is between 10 and 12 months. These term lengths give you more flexibility to reinvest or adjust your portfolio based on market conditions and personal goals.
Stability: Historically, private credit has not been subject to the same level of volatility as public markets. This can offer stability in a diversified portfolio that includes private credit.
Diversification: Private credit can add diversification to a portfolio. Investors can also diversify across different private credit deals, including corporate loans, asset-based lending, litigation financing, merchant cash advances, and more.

Because of these characteristics, research has shown that allocating 10% a portfolio to private credit has historically reduced volatility while raising annualized returns:

Source: Percent

For these reasons, private credit has become an increasingly popular asset class among institutional investors and is now a $3.14 trillion market.

And now, accredited investors can also invest in private credit through certain investment platforms, like Percent.

What is Percent?

Percent (formerly known as Cadence) is an alternative investment platform that gives accredited investors access to the multi-trillion-dollar private credit market.

Since being founded in 2018, Percent has funded more than $1.69 billion in private credit deals.

Importantly, Percent offers one of the widest selections of private credit deals, making it easy for investors to own highly diversified portfolios of deals, tailored to their individual risk tolerance.

Key figures

All figures are as of July 2025:

Amount invested: $1.69 billion
Deals funded: 964
Average return: 14.30% annualized interest rate (APY) on matured deals
Average investment term: 12.6 months
Default rate: 2.41%
Minimum investment: $500
Investor fees: Varies, ~1-2%
Retention: Over 89% of investors re-invest after their first deal
Welcome bonus: Up to $500

Get started on Percent

What are Percent's investment offerings?

There are four main sub-asset classes to invest in on Percent: asset-based securities, corporate loans, limited partner investing, and blended notes.

1. Asset-based securities

Best for: Downside protection (collateralized risk)

Asset-based securities (aka asset-based finance or asset-based lending) are short-term notes in which repayment comes from cash flows generated by a particular asset that also serves as direct collateral.

For example, a loan to a construction company might be secured by a specific piece of equipment, with repayments coming from the income it generates.

Other examples include financing for a fleet of rental cars backed by rental revenue, or loans to small businesses secured by their receivables or inventory.

Percent also offers consumer loans and advances such as residential mortgages, personal loans, installment loans, student loans, payday loans, litigation finance, and other types of consumer debt.*

*However, Percent typically offers consumer debt investments as portfolios comprising many loans, not as individual loans.

Because of their short durations, high risk-adjusted returns, and variety of offerings, asset-based securities are extremely popular on Percent.

2. Corporate loans

Best for: Most common private credit offering

You can also invest in corporate loans, which come in the form of cash-flow lending or venture debt.

In cash-flow lending, well-established businesses with predictable cash flows borrow money to help expand operations, replenish inventory, or take on new projects.

These are typical loans, but the companies are too large to qualify for traditional bank financing, so they turn to the private credit market instead.*

*This is the most common form of private credit investment.

Venture debt, on the other hand, is a special type of debt financing taken out by venture-backed companies to bridge the gap between funding rounds or other liquidity events (like an IPO).

This allows companies to maintain liquidity without needing to dilute existing shareholders.

3. Limited Partner investing

Best for: Professional management

Percent also offers Limited Partner investing, which allows you to participate in a managed private fund set up and managed by a General Partner (GP, the fund manager).

Each fund has its own investing strategy and invests in a basket of assets that meet that strategy.

As an investor, this is a passive investment with specific expected returns that generally yields income and/or periodic distributions.

The minimum investment is typically between $50,000 and $100,000.

4. Percent Blended Notes

Best for: Instant diversification

Instead of constructing your own portfolio of private credit deals, you can invest in Percent Blended Notes (PBNs), which provide diversified exposure across multiple sub-asset classes in one investment.

Each PBN has its own set of criteria and allocation rules that determine which deals from Percent's marketplace are selected.

This allows you to invest in a basket of investments that meet your selection criteria without needing to evaluate each deal individually.

Plus, PBNs automatically reinvest capital into newly available deals, so you don't need to think about reinvesting your proceeds.

The importance of diversification

Before going further, it's worth emphasizing just how important diversification is when investing in private credit.

While a default rate of 2.41% is low, that still means that roughly 1 out of every 50 deals will default.*

*Technically, a deal "defaults" if it does not make a full payment within 5 business days of its scheduled payment date. Most defaulted deals do not result in a total loss of principal, though some do.

Private credit carries unique risks tied to individual borrowers, industries, and asset types. Concentrating your investment in just a few loans or sectors can expose you to outsized losses if a borrower defaults or market conditions shift.

By spreading capital across a broad range of deals, you can better manage risk and smooth out your returns over time.

And while private credit deals typically have short durations, your money is still locked up for the duration of the loan. Therefore, reducing exposure to any single issuer or deal is critical.

This is where Percent really stands out.

Number of offerings: It has more private credit offerings than any other platform, making it easier to build a well-diversified portfolio.
Low investment minimums: While minimums vary across offerings, they can be as low as $500, making it easier to spread your capital across multiple deals without overcommitting to any single one.
Easy diversification opportunities: Its Blended Notes offer instant diversification into baskets of pre-selected private credit deals.
Transparent data and proactive communication: It provides access to detailed issuer performance data, including on-time payment history, and quickly alerts investors to any delayed payments, along with updates on recovery efforts.

Diversification is key for private credit investors, and there's no better platform for building a diversified portfolio than Percent.

Who can invest with Percent?

Only 1) U.S. citizens with 2) U.S. bank accounts who 3) qualify as accredited investors can invest in private credit on Percent's marketplace.

A note on accreditation requirements

You can qualify as an accredited investor if:

You have an annual income of $200,000 individually or $300,000 jointly

Your net worth exceeds $1,000,000 (excluding your primary residence)

You are a qualifying financial professional

There are no tests or certifications required to become an accredited investor — you just need to meet one of the three criteria listed above.

After creating an account, Percent's customer support team will verify your status as an accredited investor.

What are the fees on Percent?

Percent charges variable fees depending on the investment product.

Single note offerings: Percent charges no management fees, but it does charge a percentage of the yield (typically 10%). For example, if a deal paid 15% interest and the fee was 10% of the yield, your effective return would be 13.5%.
Blended Notes and other managed products: Percent charges a 1% management fee plus a percentage of the yield (typically 10%). For example, if a blended note paid 15% interest and the fee was 10% of the yield, your effective return would be 12.5%.

These fees are slightly below industry standards, and Percent is also more transparent than other platforms regarding how they charge fees.

Is Percent legit and safe?

Yes, Percent is legit.

Here are a few factors that confirm its legitimacy:

Regulatory compliance: The company operates in compliance with all SEC and other applicable financial regulations.
Track record: Since being founded in 2018, the company has funded more than $1.69 billion in private credit deals and has paid out $100+ million in interest. To date, the average annualized interest rate on matured deals is over 14% and the default rate is less than 2.5%.
Due diligence: Each deal listed on Percent must first pass its team's strict due diligence process, which ensures originators meet strict requirements and have substantial industry experience.
Transparency: Each investment provides all the relevant information about the borrower, past deal performance, and any applicable fees.
User experience: Percent has received numerous positive reviews touting its wide selection of investments, transparency, and customer service. And 89% of Percent's investors have invested in more than one deal.
Security: Percent uses bank-level encryption to protect your information and complies with all the relevant financial regulations. Your funds are not mixed with other investors' money until the investment is fully subscribed and ready to be distributed. Additionally, each account is FDIC insured up to $250,000.

While all investments carry a degree of risk, Percent has prioritized creating a secure, reliable platform for curated private credit investment opportunities.

Nevertheless, you should perform your own due diligence and be sure private credit is a fit for your portfolio based on your risk tolerance and financial goals.

How does Percent compare to Yieldstreet?

Only two platforms have made private credit available to individual investors: Percent and Yieldstreet.

While Percent is focused solely on private credit, Yieldstreet offers it as one of ten asset classes available.*

*Yieldstreet is the biggest player in alternative investing and ranks first on my list of the best alternative investment platforms.

Here's a breakdown of Yieldstreet vs Percent:

	Percent	Yieldstreet
Asset classes	Private credit	Private credit, real estate, art, venture capital, and 7 others
Amount invested	$1.69+ billion	$6 billion
Average returns	~14%	~9%
Minimum investment	$500	$10,000
Accreditation requirement	Accredited only	Primarily accredited
Sign up links	Learn more	Learn more

If you're solely interested in private credit, Percent has a wider selection and slightly lower fees.

If you want access to the many different types of alternative assets, then Yieldstreet may be a better option.

Additionally, if you're not an accredited investor, the Yieldstreet Alternative Income Fund is one of the easiest ways to invest in a diversified set of alternative assets.

Percent pro and con summary

Pros	Cons
Large selection of private credit investments	Only available to accredited investors
High average historical returns ( >14%)	Only available to U.S. investors
Short-term durations
Diversification outside of public markets
Low, transparent fees
Low minimum investment ($500)
Welcome bonus of up to $500