Ares raises $3 billion special situations fund ahead of huge European direct lending launch
Ares Management has witnessed “accelerated fundraising” for its special situations fund, which it has closed at around $3 billion, according to the firm’s earnings calls. The firm also launched its fifth European direct lending fund this week, which Ares expects could be “the largest private comingled fund in its history”

Alecta partners with PGGM for SRT co-investments
Swedish pension fund Alecta has formed a co-investment partnership with PGGM to invest in significant risk transfers

Flex CLOs tap mass downgrades to fill big triple C buckets
CLO managers are being hampered by the sheer volume of corporate credit downgrades to triple C, leaving the small cluster of triple C-flex CLOs to capitalise

On-site due diligence rules pose fundraising challenge
Stipulations in some fund limited partner bylaws dictating strict due diligence could pose a challenge for asset managers, sources say

Past returns: Death by triple Cs? A step too far
15 months ago in Creditflux we reported that corporate credit downgrades, rather than defaults, were the biggest problem facing CLO portfolio managers

Points up front: Blame it on capitalism
You know it’s a tough month for returns when a hedge fund manager quotes Lenin and laments that capitalism and globalisation have failed to distribute wealth efficiently

Credit markets adjust to stay-at-home rules
Lockdown orders across the world have forced the loan and CLO markets to modernise certain industry practices at speed, leading to speculation that some of the emergency measures adopted could become permanent, according to market participants

Credit pickers need luck to avoid OC trap
We know what you’re thinking: is my CLO failing its OC test? The truth is, in all this volatility, it can be hard to keep track, unless your deal has high quality liquid loans

 

Credit hedge fund returns: March 2020 stats
Monthly performance across credit hedge funds

Fund performance: Index tranche investors make it work from home
March brought a drastic drop in return figures as covid-19 swept across the globe, as Orchard tops the Creditflux performance tables

Ucits at a glance: Long-short credit capitalises on coronavirus
Ucits funds were not spared from the crash in mid-March, but Pictet outperforms

Credit funds at a glance (May 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Who’s got the moves US: oil and gas leads renaissance for US CLO managers
The US leveraged loan market has held steady over the last two weeks. After rising to just below 87 of par in mid-April, the S&P LSTA US Leveraged Loan index closed at 85.75 to start this week

Who’s got the moves Europe: CLO managers enjoy climb of Everest
The European S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan index enjoyed a strong month in April as it rose from 83 of par on 1 April to 89.2 by the end of the month. The index closed at 89.4 on 4 May to start the week 

Cairn wins €115 million for European loan fund
Cairn Capital's open-ended European Loan Fund has reached €380 million assets under management, following €115 million in commitments from two institutional investors

OFS and CIM team up for fund geared towards loans, CLOs and real assets
Credit-related investments in the new interval fund will include floating and fixed rate loans, broadly syndicated senior secured corporate loans, CLO debt and equity tranches and opportunistic credit 

'Nochu covenant' leaves big CLO managers in a trading bind
Stipulations pushed into CLOs by the world’s largest CLO investor Norinchukin to limit its exposure to covenant-lite loans are causing headaches for managers on its approved list hoping to use the dislocation to build par  

Apollo earmarks $20 billion for dislocation fundraising over 12 months
Apollo's returns for corporate credit, structured credit and direct origination in the first quarter were down 8.3%, 14.7% and 4.8%, respectively, but the firm is looking to launch various credit strategies, including capital solutions, dislocation strategies and distressed strategies, that it “expects to accumulate $20 billion over the next year”

TPG spins off credit arm Sixth Street
TPG has officially split from its credit arm TPG Sixth Street Partners, following talks with respective investors earlier this year

Credit pickers need luck to avoid OC trap

Atalaya appoints head of business development and IR
Atalaya Capital Management has appointed a former Third Point Capital official as head of business development and investor relations, according to an annoucement

CLO market braces for another wave of loan downgrades
A wave of negative rating actions swept the leveraged loan and CLO market in April. “Companies will look to secure incremental capital which will lead to further rating pressure,” says Philip Raciti, portfolio manager and head of US performing credit at Bardin Hill Investment Partners

222 CLOs hold bankrupt telecom firm as its signal fades
CLOs hold $334.5 million debt of Australian telecommunications company SpeedCast International, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Texas on Friday

Angelo Gordon hires well-known credit strategist in New York
Angelo Gordon has hired an experienced credit strategist as a manging director in its investor relations team in New York

New Mexico pension allocates $235 million to credit
New Mexico Educational Retirement Board has allocated $235 million to three credit managers, a spokesperson for the pension has confirmed