Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Friday, February 20. In today's briefing, an asset sale by Blue Owl cast further doubt on the direct-lending industry's moves to court retail investors.

Private-credit warning signs flash after Blue Owl unloads $1.4 billion in assets. The poster child for the direct-lending industry, Blue Owl, said it is liquidating $1.4 billion in assets to raise money to pay out individuals who bought into some of its funds in their heyday but now want to get out.

The firm hoped the sale would shore up wobbling investor confidence. Instead, the opposite happened. Stocks across the private-fund industry slid as the deal raised questions about how much fund managers can count on individuals to stay invested in hard-to-sell assets for the long term.

Share your tips, suggestions and feedback with the WSJ Pro Bankruptcy team: Alexander Gladstone; Jodi Xu Klein; Akiko Matsuda; Alicia McElhaney; Andrew Scurria; Becky Yerak. 

Follow us on X: @gladstonea; @jodixu; @AskAkiko; @AliciaMcElhaney; @AndrewScurria; @beckyyerak.