Credit hedge funds (November 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Ucits at a glance: Robus and Altana enter the final sprint neck and neck
A downward turn hit Ucits funds as 65% of them made positive returns in September,

There's still time to pick up pennies in credit before steamroller arrives: BNP Paribas
Declining dealer inventories, rising fund cash balances, and a greater prevalence of hedging have added up to produce a credit market that is positioned too short, according to BNP Paribas strategists

A&M hires high profile SRT official from StormHarbour
 One of the biggest names in the significant risk transfer industry has joined Alvarez & Marsal in London 

Brookfield hires industry veteran as public securities CIO
Brookfield Asset Management has hired a long-serving credit and equity market professional as chief investment officer for its public securities group

Credit Rendezvous: Credit spins full circle
The third quarter was massive in terms of volumes with CLOs, high yield, leverage loans and private equity registering record issuance. But credit spreads were up and down as inflation fears, crackdowns in China and rising coronavirus cases became catalysts for risk-off sentiment in July and September

"If ESG funds only talk the talk, it is because investors, legislators and regulators don’t walk the walk"
Whatever an ESG fund means to you, it probably means something different to the next investor

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

Credit hedge funds (September 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

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

Lingering covid vies with inflation as top credit threat, finds BofA
Covid-19 lingering is catching up with inflation as credit investors' number one worry, Bank of America's August survey has found. The picture for central bank purchases is bullish, but strategists see industrial and bank senior bonds as shorts for contrarians over the summer

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.  

The View from ION Analytics: paradise blues
The reopening of economies from Covid-19 lockdowns has created distortions in financial markets that are harder to navigate than those of the original sell-off in early 2020. Even big-name economists and central bankers are confused, changing their views in recent weeks. 

Diversity database shines light on credit firms not stepping up
Private credit managers are significantly lagging behind their industry counterparts when it comes to hiring under-represented groups, including front office, distribution and investment committee roles, according to data from Diversity­Metrics, a new data-driven platform launched by executive search firm Jensen Partners

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

"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  

Birch Grove merges with American Securities' credit business
US private equity firm American Securities has merged its opportunistic credit business, Ascribe Capital, with boutique alternative credit hedge fund Birch Grove Capital

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

Axa IM extends palm oil policy to cover ecosystem protection and deforestation
Axa Investment Managers says it is expanding its 2014 policy of excluding investments in companies which do not have sustainable palm oil production certificates by factoring in deforestation and ecosystem protection

BlueBay hires Germany/Austria institutional sales official in new role
BlueBay Asset Management has tapped a former bfinance official as head of institutional sales Germany and Austria, a newly created job

Fund performance: CLO funds outperform as two hit over 100% 12-months return
CLO funds swatted away the competition in April on their way to dominating our top 10 credit hedge fund return table after an upbeat month