KKR takes covid-19 hit on flagship credit funds and lev fin
KKR took a 16% hit to returns on its alternative credit flagship funds amid the first quarter coronavirus downturn and a 13% loss on leveraged credit, taking these into negative territory for the last 12 months. The firm's private equity portfolio also slumped by 12%

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

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 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

'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”

Credit pickers need luck to avoid OC trap

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

Credit Rendezvous: recovery begins, but is it U, V or even W?
Investing in credit is not as easy as ABC. The coronavirus crisis has crushed valuations and although most assets will eventually pull to par, no one is sure how the recovery will pan out

Pimco promotes European HY head to global head of loans
Pimco has promoted David Forgash to head of global leveraged loans and has appointed ex-Deutsche Bank official Roman Kogan to its European commercial real estate team 

Four managers eye breakthrough new issue European CLOs
The European primary CLO market is showing signs of revival with four managers eyeing deals

Beneath the triple C: $31.6 billion of CLO credits feel downgrade pain
March madness took a toll on CLOs as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s downgraded 4.25% of the portfolios in the US and 1.84% in Europe to triple C or below in just one month (some of these were already triple C rated, only to fall further).

Bardin Hill pulls in $300 million for first close of opportunistic credit fund
Bardin Hill has held a first close on an opportunistic credit fund at around $300 million, according to sources familiar with the matter

CVC looks to cut quarterly tenders from 25% to 10% in listed credit fund
CVC Credit Partners is looking to amend quarterly tender terms through shareholder approval on its its listed credit fund to "respond to changes relating to covid-19 pandemic in the best way possible"

Investors need to ask: can my asset manager survive the crisis?

CLO warehouses trigger draw stops as loan market tanks
CLO warehouses are being put on ice due to ‘draw stop’ triggers, which have come into play as loan prices plunge.