"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  

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

CLO demand to drive loan outperformance over bonds: BNP Paribas
The buying power of CLOs and funds could mean leveraged loans rally further and outpace high yield bonds, says BNP Paribas' credit research team

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

"Technology won’t replace human judgement. In ESG a qualitative review is necessary"
The social aspect of ESG must be given sufficient weight in investment decisions  

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

Credit hedge funds (June 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Meag hires experienced credit specialist for top fixed income job
€328 billion asset manager Meag has appointed a head of active fixed income in Munich to oversee a range of assets including credit

CLO PM set to leave PGIM ahead of move to London-based manager
A London-based mid-sized CLO manager has hired an official from PGIM 

Woah, we’re halfway there
Judging by the 2020 vintage, European CLO overlap is 50%. But varied approaches to holding bonds and the many loans managers turn down mean there are ways for issuers to outperform

BofA and State Street divided over CLO convertibles
A split has emerged in the approach between the two big buyers of triple A-rated CLO tranches that are structured as loans

Fund performance: Lightning strikes twice as range of credit funds deliver
What seemed like a chance occurrence in February has struck again in March, as seven categories make our top 10 best performing hedge funds

Credit hedge funds (May 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

CME touts forward-looking Sofr term benchmarks
CME Group has begun publishing term benchmarks for the secured overnight interest rate (Sofr) as part of the global push to move away from Libor in financial markets

Credit Rendezvous: ready and waiting
In Creditflux's quarterly review of credit, portfolio managers tell us that Inflation is likely to nudge higher but they are optimistic because dispersion will pick up and windows of volatility will emerge, rather than elongated phases of stress 

CLO managers eye bonds as short-dated loan universe shrinks
European CLO managers that focus on bonds say they had flexibility in the first quarter as the new issue loan pipeline ramped up

Credit hedge funds (April 2021)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

We say it: Creditflux salutes women in credit
The credit industry is blessed with many strong women and for this issue of Creditflux we’re exclusively hearing their voices across our news, analysis and columns

LP round-up: $2.6 billion flows into 26 credit managers
A stuck ship in the Suez Canal may have prevented others from getting through one of the world's busiest waterways in March, but allocations to credit funds were much more free flowing as investors poured over $2.6 billion into the hands of credit managers

CIFC multi-asset strategy launch underlines diversification beyond CLOs
CIFC Asset Management has launched a multi-strategy credit strategy, underlining its development from a CLO issuance business to a broader credit asset manager

A transformational framework means fund managers have to drive real-world change
There are managers who make transformational investments, those who incorporate ESG and those who do nothing

Moving fast pays off for hedge funds
2020 was an up and down year in credit, and credit hedge fund managers had to move quickly to capture opportunities from the dislocations that inevitably opened up

Credit funds at a glance (March 2021)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Fund performance: CLO funds pick up where they left off
New year, same funds leading the way with CLO strategies the top performers in January

Ucits at a glance: CIFC nears positive 12-month returns
Ucits funds have started 2021 on a quiet note as 72% of funds achieved a positive return