NCREIF and CREFC Release First Quarter 2026 Open-End Debt Fund Aggregate and Open-End Moderate-Yield Debt Fund Index Reports
July 14, 2026
Dear CREFC Member,
NCREIF and CREFC released the First Quarter 2026 Reports for the Open-End Debt Fund Aggregate and the Open-End Moderate-Yield Debt Fund Index.
As of March 31, 2026, the Aggregate now reflects 17 active funds, representing $36.1 billion in loan investments at fair value across 739 loans, with a 1.5% gross quarterly return and a 7.1% return over the trailing 12 months. The Moderate-Yield Index, our newer and more tightly defined index, captures 12 funds, $30.5 billion in loan investments at fair value, and a 1.4% gross quarterly return with a 7.0% trailing year. Returns are gross of fees and net of fund costs. See below for links to these reports or visit the NCREIF or CREFC websites for the reports.
Here's What We Want You to Know: The project is still in the consultation phase. That means the inclusion criteria, the reporting standards, and the shape of this index are not locked in yet. So, there is still time for your company to participate in this effort by becoming a data contributor now. Doing so means that you don't just get a seat at the table… you help build the table.
Concretely, that means:
- Visibility to the institutional investors increasingly asking for standardized debt fund benchmarks.
- A real hand in defining how core, moderate, and high-yield debt strategies are developed and classified.
- Early positioning in what we expect to become the industry's reference point for open-end debt fund performance – once the index is frozen, new entrants will need five consecutive quarters of compliant data to qualify and participate.
This has been years in the making, built by the industry for the industry via the collaboration between both CREFC and NCREIF. Note that the Aggregate and Index will never reveal individual fund performance. It's designed to give your investors greater confidence in allocating to private real estate debt, and to provide all market participants with highly enhanced data and insights to make the case for this important and growing asset class.
If you are interested in becoming a data contributor, or just want to ask questions before committing, please reach out to me directly. I would love to talk you through it.
NCREIF and CREFC Release First Quarter 2026 Open-End Debt Fund Aggregate and Open-End Moderate-Yield Debt Fund Index Reports
Snapshot Reports are available to the public and also can be found on the CREFC website.
Membership Reports are located in the CREFC Resource Center for CREFC Members only.
1Q26 Open-End Debt Fund Aggregate
Snapshot Report Membership Report
1Q26 Open-End Moderate-Yield Debt Fund Index
Snapshot Report Membership Report
Please visit CREFC's Website for more information and to view past reports. For any questions or suggestions and/or if you wish to become a debt fund contributor, please contact Lisa Pendergast.