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Phil Tseng, the executive who ran BlackRock TCP Capital Corp., is stepping down from all roles at the private credit fund effective August 31, 2026. His exit follows a brutal stretch for TCPC that includes massive portfolio markdowns, a stock price in freefall, and active investigations by both the SEC and the US Attorney’s Office into how the fund valued its assets.
The numbers behind the exit
TCPC’s net asset value dropped 19% in January 2026 alone. Then in May, another markdown of roughly 5% hit. The Q1 damage totaled around $35 million in writedowns, driven largely by distressed loans connected to e-commerce aggregators and the bankruptcy of a company called Renovo Home Partners.
TCPC shares have fallen more than 35% year-to-date in 2026, trading at a steep discount to the fund’s already-reduced NAV.
Jason Mehring has been tapped as the new CEO and board chair starting September 2, 2026. Dan Worrell will serve as president. The appointments represent BlackRock’s attempt to stabilize a vehicle that has become one of the more visible headaches in its sprawling alternatives business.
How TCPC got here
BlackRock acquired Tennenbaum Capital Partners back in 2018, which gave it control of TCP Capital Corp. and its portfolio of middle-market direct lending. That bet got even bigger in 2025 when BlackRock closed its acquisition of HPS Investment Partners for approximately $12 billion.
The e-commerce aggregator loans that drove much of the writedown pain reflect a broader trend. Several companies that raised capital to buy and roll up Amazon marketplace brands during the pandemic-era boom have since struggled with slowing consumer spending and operational challenges. TCPC appears to have had meaningful exposure to this cohort.
Renovo Home Partners, whose bankruptcy contributed to the Q1 markdown wave, added further pressure.
The regulatory dimension
Perhaps the most consequential element of this story isn’t the personnel change. It’s the fact that both the US Attorney’s Office and the SEC are looking into BlackRock’s valuation practices at TCPC.
When a fund takes a 19% NAV hit in a single month, it suggests one of two things: either the underlying loans deteriorated with astonishing speed, or the prior valuations were overly generous. Federal investigators appear interested in exploring the latter possibility.
For BlackRock, which manages roughly $11.5 trillion in total assets, any hint of valuation irregularities at a subsidiary is a reputational risk that far exceeds TCPC’s actual size.
What to watch next
The leadership swap at TCPC is part of a broader restructuring of BlackRock’s US private credit operations as it integrates the HPS acquisition and attempts to rationalize overlapping strategies.
BlackRock spent $12 billion to become a private credit powerhouse. The first major test of that ambition has arrived, and it looks nothing like the pitch deck.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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