European loan trading: CLO managers snack on Ifco loans
35 CLO managers were holding €364.2 million  €364.2 million of IFCO’s loans in April – all at par

JP Morgan AM names CEO with Willcox set to leave
JP Morgan Asset Management’s chief executive officer Chris Willcox will step down from his job at the end of the year, according to an internal memo seen by Creditflux

UK pension scheme quits tobacco
Nest is set to go tobacco free across all its investments, with the largest UK pension master trust expecting that the process will take up to two years.  

Senior figure rejoins Credit Suisse to head European capital markets
The bank is looking to build out its key European platforms - and has hired an official who left just last summer 

US pension replaces Cliffwater with Meketa
Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds has selected Meketa as a consultant to oversee its opportunistic investments, which consists of direct lending and opportunistic credit investments, along with investments in hedge funds and real assets.  

HSBC pension chief joins London CIV in top role
London Collective Investment Vehicle (London CIV) has appointed Mark Thompson to serve as chief investment officer (CIO), effective from September.  

Rallye CDS auction date set with three initial deliverables
A credit event auction to settle CDS referencing Rallye, the parent of French supermarket chain Casino, will take place on 27 June, with the Determinations Committee having agreed an initial list of three deliverable obligations

Deutsche Bank hires emerging market credit trader
Deutsche Bank has added to its credit team in London by hiring a trader of emerging market cash debt and CDS

PE hold periods have shrunk but fast acquisitions can lead to botched integrations
Buyout multiples are likely to stay high – but moving fast and specialising can help firms make money

New kids on the block dominate awards

Budge up, more new managers are coming

Market bemoans Europe’s lack of CLO manager tiering
Manager tiering became a hot topic in Europe again last month following Credit Suisse Asset Management’s decision to break with tradition by syndicating its triple A notes in Madison Park Euro Funding XIV, rather than place the notes with an anchor investor.

Cayman Island hopping: EU laws provoke switch in CLO listings
The Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX) is set to become the listing place of choice in 2019 for CLOs put together by US managers — at least, according to a bold prediction by law firm Harneys.

Being fully invested can have a greater impact on IRRs than avoiding 2% defaults annually
The IRR differential can be as much as 3.3% for a fully invested CLO versus one that maintains a 5% cash balance

Doing CLOs is hard work as recovery lags
There’s scrutiny on staffing, structures and, of course, ‘the challenging arb’. But Q4 volatility created opportunity, which led speakers at the Creditflux CLO Symposium to ask for more

Credit funds at a glance

Fund performance

Mizuho appoints US and European credit trading heads in leadership shake-up
The hires include a newly created CLO role, head of credit trading, and head of special situations and illiquid trading 

Cairn teams with Mediobanca for European credit Ucits fund
The strategy will focus on four credit asset classes - financials, corporates, asset-backed securities and special opportunities 

London pension fund appoints interim CIO
London Collective Investment Vehicle, the fund manager for the pooled investments of 32 London Local Authority Pension Funds, has appointed Michael Pratten as interim chief investment officer  

Border to Coast pension seeks exposure to UK investment grade credit
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership is set to begin a manager selection process, seeking UK investment grade credit and global multi-asset credit funds  

Permira adds hire to start credit opportunities business
Permira Debt Managers is building out a unit in London to invest in special situations and credit opportunities and has hired a distressed and high yield specialist to help establish the business

Deutsche Bank rehires Nordic sales head after senior official moves to buy side
The bank is bringing in a Barclays official to replace him, in a slightly more broader role, say market sources

Mizuho’s credit trading head departs in London
Mizuho's head of credit trading has departed after just over a year, a spokesperson at the bank has confirmed.