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(Bloomberg) -- MA Financial Group is launching a new interval fund that will invest in US private credit assets, continuing the firm’s push into the North American market.

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The fund, its first in the region, currently has about $85 million in assets with plans to to raise more money early next year, according to JP Marra, head of US asset management at the Australian firm’s subsidiary MA Asset Management.

The private credit manager said its setting up the investment vehicle as a continuously offered, closed-end fund, which will allow the fund to sell unlimited number of shares and buy back a portion from investors at fixed intervals. Fundraising is expected to begin next year and the firm is already fielding expressions of interest, according to Marra.

“We are experiencing and continue to expect significant demand for the fund,” he said. “We seeded the fund with firm capital and strong client participation from the MA platform.”

MA, which invests in private credit, real estate and hospitality, is taking part in the boom in asset-based finance. Fueled by regional banking’s retreat from the space following the March 2023 crisis, specialty finance has been called the next big thing in credit markets.

Earlier this year, Blue Owl paid at least $450 million for credit manager Atalaya Capital Management, which focuses on private credit and asset-based lending while Pacific Investment Management Co. raised $2 billion for its specialty finance strategy, a key part of its push into private lending.

For MA, the fund is a natural extension of their strategy to make inroads in North American private credit markets after purchasing Blue Elephant Capital Management in 2023. The former Blue Elephant leadership, including cofounder Marra, transitioned to senior roles at MA Asset Management.

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