BCRED vs OCIC vs Apollo Debt Solutions vs PRIV: Non-Traded BDCs vs the First Private-Credit ETF

You can now buy private credit two very different ways: hand $2,500 to an advisor for a non-traded fund that pays around 9% but locks the door on your exit, or buy a single share of an ETF that trades like any other fund at any brokerage. The three big advisor-sold funds all yield well above what a savings account or investment-grade bond fund pays, and all three cap how fast you can get your money back. The real question is whether that extra yield is worth giving up the right to sell on a bad day.

Here is how the four stack up before we get into what each trade-off actually costs you.

The four options at a glance

The yield you are actually buying

The three non-traded business development companies (BDCs) are the same product from three brand names. Each one lends directly to private companies, mostly through floating-rate senior secured loans, and passes the interest back to you as a monthly or quarterly distribution.

The headline rates are close. BCRED, the largest non-traded BDC by a wide margin, reports a 9.1% annualized distribution rate on Class I shares (July 2026). OCIC, Blue Owl's senior-lending vehicle, reports 9.2% on Class I as of August 31, 2026. Apollo Debt Solutions reports 9.06% on Class I as of September 22, 2026. On distributions alone, OCIC edges ahead and BCRED and Apollo sit a hair behind, though the gap is small enough that scale and manager preference matter more than a few tenths of a point.

One thing the rate does not tell you: how much of it survives fees. Non-traded BDCs layer a management fee on top of an incentive fee on profits, and those come out before the distribution reaches you. The ~9% is what is left after that machinery runs, not a gross coupon. Two funds can advertise similar yields and still hand you different net returns depending on how the fee waterfall is built, so treat the distribution rate as the output, not the input.

The catch: gated exits

This is the line item that separates a BDC from a bond fund. All three of these funds gate redemptions. You do not sell whenever you want. You request your money back through a periodic tender offer, usually quarterly, and the fund only buys back a limited slice of shares each period. If too many investors head for the door at once, the fund can prorate requests or suspend redemptions entirely.

In a calm market, that gate is a formality. In a stressed one, it is the whole story. The moment you most want out (a credit cycle turning, defaults rising) is exactly when everyone else lines up too, and the gate is what stops a run. That protects the fund and the investors who stay. It does nothing for you if you needed the cash. Pair that with the $2,500 advisor-sold entry and you are committing money you should be comfortable not touching for years.

None of this makes the big three bad. It makes them illiquid income holdings, which is a different job than an emergency fund or a position you plan to trade.

PRIV: liquidity at the cost of purity

PRIV, now named the State Street IG Public & Private Credit ETF (as of September 2026), answers the gate problem directly. As the first private-credit ETF, it trades on an exchange, so you buy or sell one share during market hours at any brokerage, no advisor and no $2,500 ticket. If you need out on a Tuesday, you are out on a Tuesday.

The trade-off is exposure. To stay liquid enough to trade daily, PRIV cannot be a pure basket of locked-up private loans the way a BDC is. Its holdings lean heavily on public credit with a private-credit sleeve inside (generally 10% to 35% of the portfolio, per State Street, with private loans sourced by Apollo, which State Street says is not the fund's sponsor or adviser), which is why its exposure is diluted compared with a dedicated BDC. You are getting a taste of the asset class wrapped in daily liquidity, not a concentrated bet on directly originated loans. Expect its yield profile to reflect that blend rather than the ~9% a BDC targets.

Bottom line

If your goal is the highest income and you can genuinely lock the money away, the big three pay within about 0.15 points of each other as of September 2026: OCIC edges ahead on yield, and BCRED adds the comfort of being the largest and most established of the group. Apollo Debt Solutions sits a hair behind both. OCIC is also the more conservative senior-lending pick. All three demand an advisor, $2,500, and acceptance that your exit is gated.

If liquidity matters more than squeezing out the last point of yield, PRIV is the cleaner choice. You give up the concentrated private-credit exposure and the top-end distribution, but you keep the ability to sell any day the market is open, for the price of one share. For most people who are curious about private credit but not ready to lock up capital, that is the safer place to start. Put BDC money in only after you have decided you will not need it back on demand.

FAQ

Which fund pays the highest distribution?
As of September 2026 the three are nearly tied on Class I shares: OCIC at 9.2%, BCRED at 9.1% and Apollo Debt Solutions at 9.06%. Rates move monthly with each declared distribution and NAV.

What does "gated exit" mean in practice?
You cannot sell shares on the open market. You submit redemption requests through periodic tender offers, the fund repurchases only a limited amount each period, and it can prorate or suspend redemptions in stressed markets.

Do I need a financial advisor to buy these?
For BCRED, OCIC, and Apollo Debt Solutions, yes. They are advisor-sold with a $2,500 minimum. PRIV is a standard ETF you can buy in one share at any brokerage on your own.

Is PRIV the same thing as a BDC?
No. PRIV, the State Street IG Public & Private Credit ETF, is a liquid ETF holding mostly public credit with a smaller private-credit sleeve, so its exposure to directly originated private loans is diluted compared with a dedicated BDC.

Are these appropriate for an emergency fund?
The three BDCs are not, because gated exits can block access exactly when markets are stressed. PRIV is liquid, but as a credit fund its price can fall, so it is not a cash substitute either.