KKR adds CLO mezz and private credit to mix with opportunistic credit fund
The new interval fund will invest in opportunistic credit, including CLO mezzanine debt, as well as private debt 

MacKay Shields integrates CVP's loan team while spinning out distressed debt
MacKay Shields has spun out the distressed debt business of Credit Value Partners and focus resources on CVP’s leveraged loan platform

US credit managers make ESG breakthrough after taking a first step via UNPRI
Incorporating a framework for investing in companies based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is a challenge that US credit managers are accepting in growing numbers

Axa IM promotes global head of loans and private debt following Levilain departure
Axa Investment Managers has promoted a new global head of leveraged loans and private debt to fill the vacancy left by Jean-Philippe Levilain, who has left to join CBAM

THL updates credit investment framework to include ESG
THL Credit Advisors has announced that it has developed an investment framework for assessing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in analysing credit quality and risk factors

If national income were a four-cylinder engine, the US economy is really only firing on one
The US economy’s reliance on consumers increases the likelihood of further rate cuts and diminishing returns for credit investors

For enhanced CLOs to outperform, investors need the credit cycle to turn — and quickly
If the current credit cycle doesn’t end within two years, triple C-heavy CLOs will not see a return on their high financing costs

Investors go first in lien at loan queue

Guidelines fail to assuage fears over loose reporting standards
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute’s new hedge fund reporting guidelines come into play next year, but some say they fall short of a much-needed overhaul.

US hedge funds use leverage to buy European CLOs
Boca Raton-based hedge fund manager III Capital Management is leading the charge as US hedge funds employ leverage to buy European triple A-rated CLOs.

CLO managers look to move away from ‘spiky’ triple Cs
CLO managers are in the process of de-risking their portfolios by rotating out of triple Cs into less risky credits following a volatile month in markets, according to multiple sources. Creditflux analysis shows that, for the past couple of years, managers have become emboldened with triple C and B3/B- loans making up 25% of the portfolios of 50 US CLO managers.

Points up front: Loan deal with 23 takes Griezmann to Barcelona
Soccer financing firm 23 Capital has been adding credit experts to its team and now has a CLO specialist captaining its capital markets effort, with former Guggenheim Securities co-head of ABS/CLO syndication Sreesha Vaman joining last month. The squad already features credit portfolio managers Sam Filer (ex-BMS Finance), David O’Connor (Mizuho) and Ardeshir Sorabjee (Deutsche Bank).

Prepayments pose reinvestment dilemma for CLO managers
CLO managers globally could be left sitting on piles of cash amid an uptick in loan prepayments. Standard & Poor’s reported that institutional US loan prepayments had hit $26 billion in July, and more recently some widely-held CLO names are set to return principal to lenders, with financial data provider Refinitiv US Holdings and Italian telecom operator Wind Tre taking this route.

How green was my rating

Credit funds at a glance
A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Fund performance
A round-up of fund performance

CLO managers went to CCC, to see what they could CCC…
CLO portfolios are drifting towards low single B and triple C names. But triple C buckets are not in danger of overflowing, so managers can be even more aggressive 

EQT looks to raise €500 million via IPO
The initial public offering is anticipated to increase EQT's flexbility to “pursue growth opportunities” and expand its private market investing business

Europe and US diverge on covenant lite structures
Direct lending is syphoning away traditional loan supply

Last of GSO's co-founders departs
It's the end of an era as GSO Capital Partners co-founder Bennett Goodman (the 'G' in GSO) will step down from the firm at the end of the year 

CLO managers cash in their chips as Caesars trade pays off
Caesars Entertainment was the most sold issuer in June with $158.8 million of its term loan sold out of CLOs.

Job opportunity with ArrowMark: research analyst
ArrowMark Partners has released details of a vacancy in its Denver office

US loan trading: Caesars marches out of CLOs as Blackstone rolls in
With $158 million of its term loan leaving the hands of CLO managers, Caesers Entertainment was the most sold issuer in June

Connecticut $36 billion pension hires first chief risk officer
The Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds has hired its first-ever chief risk officer

BlueMountain buyout to bring CLO equity shift, funding pledge and Feldstein payout
BlueMountain Capital Management’s co-founder Andrew Feldstein looks set to receive a substantial pay-out in common shares of Assured Guaranty, which has agreed to buy the manager for around $160 million and has outlined a three-year plan for its CLOs