Welcome to Lender Lens, our series for profiling leaders in the Lender community.
With private credit playing an increasingly important role in the financial system, we wanted to find out how lenders are navigating the evolving landscape and how they assess the market in the coming years.
Dealmaking has become more complex in today’s market — and private credit is adapting.
As the NAV financing market has grown into an increasingly important part of private markets, Crestline has been one of its longest-standing participants. Since launching its fund liquidity solutions strategy in 2013, the firm has built a reputation for thoughtful underwriting, flexible structuring, and long-term partnership.
In this edition of Lender Lens, we speak with Dave Philipp, Partner and Executive Managing Director & Head of Fund Liquidity Solutions at Crestline, about the evolution of NAV lending, the rise of bespoke financing solutions, and the opportunities he sees emerging across fund finance. David also reflects on Crestline’s growth over the past decade and shares a personal passion that might surprise many in the industry.
Crestline has been active in NAV and fund liquidity solutions since 2013, well before the market reached its current scale. Looking back over more than a decade in the sector, what are the biggest lessons Crestline has learned about structuring and underwriting these transactions across different market cycles?
Since launching the strategy, we have viewed NAV lending as a bridge or interim liquidity solution that enables borrowers to pursue acquisitions or provide additional capital to portfolio companies when they might otherwise need to wait. That approach requires strong conviction in the stability of the underlying assets and the borrower’s expected sources of repayment. Over time, we have learned that rigorous asset-level diligence, including a clear understanding of look-through leverage is critical, especially with more concentrated portfolios. We have continuously refined our underwriting process over the past decade to reflect those lessons.
As one of the more established players in the NAV financing market, what do you think genuinely differentiates Crestline in terms of approach, relationships and execution?
We see ourselves as a strategic capital partner, not just a lender. That perspective emphasizes long-term relationships over one-off transactions. Every solution we provide is bespoke: we begin by understanding the borrower’s objectives, then assess what is achievable given the situation and the collateral pool. Our team combines experience in primary investing for funds and family offices, valuation, credit underwriting, consulting, and advising GPs on tailored solutions. That breadth of expertise helps us deliver on our value proposition: to be the most constructive and thoughtful partner at the table. In practice, that means combining speed and certainty of execution with creativity, flexibility, and a relationship-driven approach throughout the life of the transaction, especially when outcomes differ from plan.
Crestline’s platform spans real estate, credit and family office financings. How important is that breadth of experience when assessing complex portfolio situations in today’s market?
We believe our broader mandate gives us a meaningful advantage over many NAV lenders, but it only works because we have the expertise to underwrite and structure that wider opportunity set effectively. That starts with the Crestline platform and the combined capabilities of more than 200 professionals. For more than a decade, Crestline has been an active lender across venture, growth, real estate, infrastructure, and credit, at both the asset and portfolio levels. We have paired deep asset-level expertise with tailored diligence and structuring frameworks for each asset class and borrower type in our portfolio finance business. That combination of scale, resources, experience, and track record allows us to take a broader approach with confidence.
Many sponsors today have financing needs that do not fit neatly into a standard NAV loan or preferred equity structure. How important is creativity and structuring flexibility in today’s market, and where are you seeing the greatest demand for bespoke solutions?
Creativity and flexibility are essential. NAV loans, outside of ABLs for credit or secondary funds, are still not a fully efficient market because most transactions are tailored to a distinct set of objectives and supported by a unique collateral pool. Timing, cost sensitivity, structural constraints, stakeholder dynamics, lender protections, and other factors all need to align. We are seeing the greatest demand for bespoke solutions among less traditional borrowers, such as family offices, and in non-buyout strategies such as real estate, GP stakes, and venture. Demand is also strongest when proceeds are used as a short- to medium-term bridge rather than as permanent, systemic leverage. And, candidly, the situations that require more creative thinking are often the ones that make the work most interesting.
The NAV market has evolved from a niche product into a much broader portfolio management tool. Where do you see the most sophisticated or underappreciated use cases emerging over the next few years?
I see three areas that are likely to have an outsized impact over the next few years.
The first is greater collaboration between banks and non-bank lenders to deliver more flexible, cost-effective solutions for borrowers. Historically, banks have offered lower-cost capital with less flexibility, while non-banks have provided greater flexibility at a higher cost. Recently, we have seen more diversified syndicates and more innovative risk-sharing and structural tranching than at any point in the past decade. I expect that trend to continue because it benefits all parties.
The second is venture capital. Few asset classes benefit more from a diversified portfolio approach, whether from a debt or equity perspective. Regulatory constraints have historically limited venture funds’ ability to fully access fund finance, but rapid growth in the asset class, a challenging exit environment, and rising demand for sizable pre-IPO funding are driving change.
The third is the more systematic use of fund-level and asset-level financing together to create a more efficient capital structure. Combining a moderately sized fund-level facility with asset-level facilities allows borrowers to keep most debt ring-fenced to specific assets while also maintaining a layer of flexible, readily accessible capital for bridging needs.
Looking back at Crestline’s growth in fund liquidity solutions since 2013, what achievement or milestone are you personally most proud of?
I have learned that you cannot make everyone happy all the time, but I am confident that our key stakeholders—our team, investors, and borrowers—are satisfied most of the time.
It all starts with the team we have built. Turnover has been remarkably low since inception, which I view as a reflection of both the people on the team and the culture we have created together.
None of this would be possible without the trust of our investors. I am especially proud that a number of the investors who backed Fund I—taking an early leap of faith that NAV lending could become a durable strategy—continue to support us today as we innovate through Fund IV.
Our growth over the past decade would not have been possible without delivering a consistent value proposition to our borrowing partners. The milestone I am most proud of here is earning repeat borrowers and strong referrals, which tells me we are creating lasting value.
Outside of private credit and fund liquidity solutions, what’s something people would be surprised to learn you enjoy spending time on?
I am passionate about potcakes.
The obvious question is what the heck is a “potcake”. Most people immediately assume it is a cousin of the hash brownie or something, but it is actually the colloquial term for stray dogs from the Caribbean – more specifically from the Bahamas. My family has been in the Bahamas for 7 generations, and growing up we always had potcakes around the house, in the house, and under the house. My mom could never turn one away and I think word got out amongst the pack. Potcakes get their name from the local Bahamian dish of peas and rice which is cooked in a large pot over a stove or fire. This process inevitably burns a crust on the bottom of the pot referred to as the potcake, which was often scraped out and fed to local stray dogs. From this act – the legend of the Royal Bahamian Potcake was born.
For some Darwinian reason, potcakes are ridiculously cute, loyal and smart – and have built a global following. Although I haven’t lived in the Bahamas since high school, I have two potcake companions with me on the West Coast: Abby (because she comes from the Island of Abaco) and Lulu (because she comes from the island of Eleuthera) have been by my side as I grew the business and made the inevitable hard days easier. I have a wonderful wife and the best 2 adult children any dad can ask for – but no human can provide the unconditional comfort of a potcake that knows they have been given a better life and are determined to make your life better in return.
My passion for potcakes is an extension of my support for the underdog and the appreciation that those without a voice often need someone to speak for them.
