CLO Census latest: banks in tight race, 51% optimistic on Sofr and large managers viewed as outperformers
More than 100 CLO market participants have already cast their vote in the most tightly-contested Creditflux CLO Census ever with a single vote separating the top three banks at US and European CLO execution. Meanwhile, most voters are unworried by the Sofr migration and BlackRock, CSAM, CIFC and PGIM are among the CLO managers viewed as having outperformed following the covid crash. Click here to vote: CreditfluxCLOCensus2021

KKR announces new co-CEOs as Kravis and Roberts step down
KKR has announced the appointment of its second ever pair of co-chief executive officers, effective immediately, replacing co-founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts

Everyone’s ramping

Credit hedge funds (October 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Ucits at a glance: Angsana recovers from July slump
Just under 75% of Ucits funds made positive returns in August, holding steady from June and July

"Purchasing IG CLO debt was a key driver of success for 1.0 CLOs"
Longer reinvestment periods, the ability to buy IG tranches and improved loan settlements would improve CLOs

Alcentra makes leadership changes as European CLO head Rainbow goes part-time
Alcentra has announced changes to its leadership team with co-chief investment officer of liquid credit Graham Rainbow deciding to take on a part-time role at the firm

CLOs face uncertainty as Libor rate deadline looms
CLO equity valuations could be increasingly under the spotlight in coming months, as sources warn of disruption while the market grapples with basis risk between Libor and Sofr in loans and CLO notes

An alternative way of looking at CLO overlap
Analysing CLO collateral to look for overlap is critical for any CLO investor, but it is normally done either within a portfolio of CLOs or by bilaterally comparing two managers. In one of its latest research pieces, Moody’s Analytics has taken a different approach

Credit hedge funds (September 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Ucits at a glance: Loomis Sayles makes gains in sleepy July
Ucits fund returns

"In some ways, CLOs resemble a quirky, cottage industry more than a trillion-dollar market"
CLO volumes outstanding have passed $1 trillion, but index omission and private placements are holding us back

Liquidations emerge as speed bump to $1 trillion CLO market
CLOs are now a $1 trillion global industry, but liquidations are picking up and could hamper growth — as well as providing welcome relief to an engine that’s running somewhat hot. CLOs are now a $1 trillion global industry, but liquidations are picking up and could hamper growth — as well as providing welcome relief to an engine that’s running somewhat hot.

Credit hedge funds (August 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Ucits at a glance: mid market fund leaps into top four
The majority of Ucits funds end Q2 on a high note as 76% of those in our database recorded positive performance in June

It's all relative: IG index drifts wide of 50bp as European CLO triple Bs outperform
US investment grade credit has been an underperformer in the last few weeks with CDX IG trading north of 50 basis points again. But European CLO triple Bs are looking strong while there is a stronger bid for two- to three-year paper in the US

Credit Rendezvous: And breathe...
The unanimous verdict is that credit spreads will be moving wider – they have to. But the difficulty credit fund managers face is predicting when the next sell-off comes and how sharp it will be. In the Q3 instalment of Creditflux’s Credit Rendezvous, the over-riding message from portfolio managers is that there’s little point in taking on too much risk. The report features the views of prominent credit figures including Paul Horvath (Orchard), Himani Trivedi (Nuveen), Ronnie Jaber (Onex), Graham Rainbow (Alcentra) and Michelle Russell-Dowe (Schroders). The report looks at 14 segments of the market including CLOs, direct lending, leveraged loans, distressed debt and credit derivatives.  

Fund performance: Déjà vu as April leaders dominate
CLO funds stayed in the top flight for another month as they took over the top 10 credit hedge fund return table in May, when 87% of all funds listed made positive returns

Credit hedge funds (July 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Ucits at a glance: Ucits stay positive for second month in a row
Ultra-tight credit spreads are not taking away from Ucits funds – 80% of funds in our database have again recorded positive returns.

Credit funds at a glance (July 2021)
A round up of fundraising and people moves in credit

"Pain is on the way: spreads are too tight, while compression and carry are done. But what if it's not?"
Welshcake reminds us that mid-cycle portfolio management is a funny old game  

Credit fundraising: managers take care of infrastructure with new partnerships
Credit managers were busy launching new partnerships to support growth in infrastructure and CLOs. There were 13 announcements in the month paving the way for upcoming funds, platforms, and joint ventures

It's all relative: CDX HY touches record tights but junior US CLO tranches leak wider
Credit spreads are marching tighter, but someone forgot to tell the CLO market. European and US CDS spreads have moved in step with each other for the most part with investment grade and high yield tightening 4-6% in the last week, whereas CLOs have been losing ground