Tech firm tempts credit investors with supply chain finance offer
Novicap, a fintech company focused on invoice financing, is looking to debt capital market participants — such as credit and structured credit funds, asset managers, pension companies and insurers — as it seeks to raise third-party funding for its credit platform

Credit markets heed early indicators of inflation pressure
Inflation became the topic du jour after the consumer price index (CPI) grew 4.2% in April, its fastest rate since September 2008 and much higher than the 3.6% many analysts predicted

Elfa adds to ESG fact sheet range in standardisation drive
The European Leveraged Finance Association (Elfa) will shortly publish sector-specific fact sheets for the transport and healthcare industries, sources say, bringing its total of ESG fact sheets to 12

Managers offer solutions for underfunded pensions
Credit managers are tapping UK defined benefit pensions that are battling negative cashflows

Breakthroughs come thick and fast for Libor alternatives
Momentum has gathered around initiatives to replace Libor in contracts, with CME Group obtaining a regulatory nod on the term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (Sofr) as well as moving to launch interest rate futures based on banks’ short term credit yields

"We should be mindful of the transfer of power to the C-suite that inheres in ESG"
As shareholder returns become one factor among many, the C-suite becomes more powerful  

"Don’t buy loans for the floating rate component alone"
Loomis Sayles' Matt Eagan takes our credit quiz

Fund performance: CLO funds outperform as two hit over 100% 12-months return
CLO funds swatted away the competition in April on their way to dominating our top 10 credit hedge fund return table after an upbeat month

Credit hedge funds (June 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Ucits at a glance: Altana sits atop tables as credit bounces back
Ucits funds picked up in April as 79% made positive returns

Lighten up, these are due an upgrade
CLO triple C buckets were overflowing last year, but the average exposure is now 7.3%. That is still close to trigger levels, but CLO managers are relaxed, as further loan upgrades are on the horizon

Meag hires experienced credit specialist for top fixed income job
€328 billion asset manager Meag has appointed a head of active fixed income in Munich to oversee a range of assets including credit

CLOs bask in 'golden period' as industry approaches $1 trillion market cap
The economic rebound following the reopening US economy has created a 'golden period' for the CLO market, market participants say

Blackstone and Credit Suisse among participants in talks for new ESG loan index
European leveraged loan market participants – including Blackstone and Credit Suisse – are said to be in the process of launching the ESG loan index

CLO PM set to leave PGIM ahead of move to London-based manager
A London-based mid-sized CLO manager has hired an official from PGIM 

DWS and Tikehau target UK pensions with multi-strategy credit fund
The new fund will invest in CLOs, ABS, private debt, leveraged loans, infrastructure debt and real estate debt

US pension hunts for opportunistic credit manager
Managers have until 4pm ET on Tuesday 1st June to complete the request for proposal

"The lack of standardised ESG data creates opportunities for data-driven investors"
Investors can gain an edge by using technology to help parse ESG data

Woah, we’re halfway there
Judging by the 2020 vintage, European CLO overlap is 50%. But varied approaches to holding bonds and the many loans managers turn down mean there are ways for issuers to outperform

Past returns: Hedging is back
Ten years ago in Creditflux we reported that loan managers had begun hedging after loan prices stabilised back to par following the global financial crisis. These loan managers were worried about future loan slumps and began using credit options and ETFs

Points up front: Abrdn finds text appeal
Marketing consultants have been working overtime to concoct new brand names, but their efforts have not been met with universal acclaim

Points up front: The flattest term curve - work anniversary rewards
If you think CLO term curves are flat with a handful of basis points between three and five-year triple A CLOs, then you haven’t seen anything yet

BofA and State Street divided over CLO convertibles
A split has emerged in the approach between the two big buyers of triple A-rated CLO tranches that are structured as loans

"Why can’t loans and CLOs simply move to three-month treasury bills as our reference rate?"
Sofr may be touted as Libor’s natural replacement, but the best known rate in the world is also an option

ESG factors show up in leveraged loan pricing in US
Environmental, social, and corporate governance factors are filtering through to the US CLO market and influencing loan prices