BlackRock names global alternatives head amid senior leadership shake-up
BlackRock has reshuffled its leadership and made several senior changes across various parts of its business, according to an internal memo seen by Creditflux

LSTA's Coffey floats five-point plan for Libor replacements
"Unlike Brexit, a benchmark is definitely going to happen", the audience at the IMN European CLO and Leveraged Loan conference heard 

Leveraged loans pose credit risk but not systemic risk, conference told
Regulators and the press need to understand the difference between credit risk and systemic risk, claimed panelists at the IMN European CLOs and Leveraged Loans conference

New manager Resco lands ex-credit head to found advisory board
Resco Asset Management, a London based asset manager set up last year, has appointed the first of an anticipated three advisory board members

Belgian pension fund appoints JP Morgan to run allocations to alternative investments
Hydralis, the statutory pension manager of Belgium water utility Vivaqua, has appointed JP Morgan to manage the fund’s allocation to unlisted assets for an eight years period, Creditflux has learned.  

Muzinich launches multi-strategy credit fund with Italian wealth manager
Available for retail investors, the fund will invest in syndicated loans, private debt and high yield. It will be structured as a European Long-Term Investment Fund

Dechert adds funds partner in London office
Law firm Dechert has expanded its fund practice with the appointment of a partner from Akin Gump 

Brookfield strikes deal to buy 62% stake in Oaktree
Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to buy a 62% stake in Oaktree Capital Management in a move which will lead to the creation of one of the largest asset managers in the business.

Regulation stifles SRTs, but banks and investors revel in quarter-four outperformance
Over the course of 2018 there was roughly €6.5 billion of issuance in the market for significant risk transfer (SRT) deals, sources say, with the last three months understood to be the busiest quarter on record

Italian pension fund seeks loan exposure through direct lending and large cap loan funds
Intesa Sanpaolo’s defined contribution pension scheme has issued a tender notice seeking senior secured loans and direct lending funds to invest in.  

Demonised triple Bs could outshine angelic neighbours
There has been a stampede to denounce triple B corporate credit, but investors ditching this rating band may not only miss solid returns but find bigger problems up the spectrum, investors and analysts tell Creditflux.

Loans recover slightly after late-2018 havoc
Secondary loan prices have ticked higher this year, although they are still some way off the levels reached before the fourth quarter slump. However, M&As are starting to fill the new issue pipeline
 

Just because there have always been loan fees doesn’t mean they are the right way of doing things
Scrapping loan transfer costs of up to €3,500 per transaction is a bridge Europe should cross for the sake of liquidity

Canadian pension fund poaches CPPIB official for dual credit/private equity role
The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) has hired a senior managing director in credit and public equities  

Swedish pension AMF replaces head of asset management
AMF has appointed a new head of asset management, effective from April  

LGIM hires from Columbia Threadneedle for CEO role
Legal & General has appointed a chief executivie officer of its investment management business  

AP4 keeps eye on direct unlisted investments, amid 2018 losses
AP4, the SEK 349.3 billion ($37.3 billion) pension fund, has lost 0.2% after costs from its entire portfolio for the year 2018  

Tail wags dog as European CLOs' 108bp benchmark drags loans
European CLOs usually price on the back of where underlying loans are printing, but this year the reverse looks to be true

CLOs are not like CDOs, says Barclays, but warns of loan quality impact
CLOs are far removed from the kinds of structured products that contributed to the 2008/09 global financial crisis, Barclays has argued in a wide-ranging research piece this week

HSBC hires former Barclays European leveraged credit head
 Barclays' former head of European leveraged credit, CLO and ABS distribution is anticipated to be joining rival bank HSBC 

Universal-Investment names CEO in management team shake-up
Universal-Investment, the €411bn asset manager, has appointed a new chief executive officer who will begin in that job from May  

Ares grows credit 34% with direct lending boost, but high yield takes rough ride in Q4
Ares Management Corporation reported strong returns for its European direct lending strategies in the fourth quarter of 2018. But the firm's overall revenues slumped and its US loan funds and high yield strategies were hit by the volatile credit market 

Crossover sell-off risks heightened after Brexit vote, says BNP Paribas
The risk of a bearish pullback in European crossover credits has increased as a result of yesterday’s UK parliament vote against Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit approach, according to a BNP Paribas trading note