Investor Education
Private Lending for Accredited Investors
A practical overview of how accredited investors can think about private lending structure, risk, collateral, and fit.
What private lending means in practice
Private lending generally involves capital advanced outside public bond markets, often to borrowers with a specific asset, transaction, or operating need. For accredited investors, the appeal is usually the ability to review a defined structure: borrower, collateral, loan-to-value, term, interest mechanics, servicing, reporting, and downside protection.
Zion Wealth focuses on diligence rather than broad product promotion. A lending opportunity should be understandable before an investor considers it: what is being financed, how repayment is expected to occur, what collateral supports the loan, and what happens if the borrower does not perform.
Key diligence questions
Borrower and purpose
Who is borrowing, why is capital needed, and what repayment source is realistic?
Collateral and LTV
What asset supports the loan, how was it valued, and how much equity sits below the lender?
Term and liquidity
When is capital expected back, what extensions are possible, and what liquidity limits apply?
Investor fit
Private lending may be more appropriate for investors who can tolerate illiquidity, evaluate concentrated borrower or collateral exposure, and understand that stated terms are not guarantees. It may be less appropriate for investors who need daily liquidity, broad diversification through a public vehicle, or fully passive exposure without reviewing deal-level risk.