HPS Investment Partners has closed its largest direct lending fund as investors continue to pour money into the booming private credit market. 

The firm’s fifth Specialty Loan Fund, together with parallel investment funds and accounts, raised about $11.7 billion in equity commitments translating to about $15.4 billion of investable capital including leverage, according to a statement viewed by Bloomberg.

The fund drew a mix of new and current investors, primarily from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, according to a person familiar with the matter. Committed capital was a roughly even mix between U.S. and foreign investors, the person said. Fund-raising began in early 2020.

The loans will be senior secured and approximately split between sponsor-backed and non-sponsor deals, the person said. Investments from the fund have the capability to exceed $1 billion in individual commitments.

Investors have had a growing appetite for private credit funds that offer higher returns than debt issued in the public markets. As of the second quarter, 68% of investors said they would commit to a direct lending fund compared to just 39% a year ago, according to industry research firm Preqin Ltd.

The firm’s direct lending platform “is now in an even stronger position to provide capital to a wide range of borrowers with diverse capital needs across sectors and geographies,” Michael Patterson, governing partner at HPS and portfolio manager for the company’s direct lending funds, said in the statement. “As the global economy continues to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, we are seeing a robust pipeline of opportunities to deploy capital.”

HPS has deployed nearly 60% of the fund’s investable capital, totaling approximately $9.1 billion toward 58 investments, according to the statement. The firm’s direct lending platform has invested more than $55 billion across more than 375 portfolio companies since 2010, and has $9.3 billion of cash on hand for lending, including leverage.

HPS has approximately $75 billion of assets under management.