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

KKR opens Stockholm office
KKR has expanded its presence in the Nordics with an office in Stockholm

Credit fundraising: Audax scores big in lighter month
Fundraising markedly dropped in May, but credit funds still amassed $12.8 billion and 10 credit funds reached final closes across a variety of different strategies

Novicap tech platform targets credit investors with fundraising drive
Novicap, a fintech company offering working capital optimisation solutions to SMEs and mid-market corporates, is looking to debt capital markets participants such as credit and structured credit funds, asset managers, pension companies and insurers as it seeks to raise third-party funding for its credit platform

Tech firm tempts credit investors with supply chain finance offer
Novicap, a fintech company focused on invoice financing, is looking to debt capital market participants — such as credit and structured credit funds, asset managers, pension companies and insurers — as it seeks to raise third-party funding for its credit platform

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

LP round up: $3.2 billion flows to 21 managers as private credit illiquidity premium holds firm
Investors allocated at least $3.2 billion to credit managers in April - and direct lending funds were in favour with Churchill and Ares being awarded two mandates

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

Standard Life Aberdeen 2 rbrnd 2 Abrdn
Standard Life Aberdeen has announced that it is changing its name to Abrdn (pronounced Aberdeen) 

Carlyle senior credit investor joins fintech firm as CFO
An experienced credit investment professional at the Carlyle Group has moved to become chief financial officer at fintech company NoviCap

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 

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

Los Angeles pension seeks global credit manager for $880 million mandate
Flush with cash? The Los Angeles Water & Power Employees' Retirement Plan has launched a request for proposal for its ‘active extended global credit’ mandate. But only managers with $50 billion under management need apply

Tikehau places €500 million sustainable bond as it plans high yield impact fund
Tikehau Capital has placed an inaugural sustainable bond that it says is the first of its kind for an asset manager

Tikehau hires UK institutional business head
Tikehau Capital has appointed a head for its UK institutional business

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

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

It's all relative: CLOs march tighter as macro traders open positive CDS skews
Credit default swaps are back near where they started the year after giving up their early-February gains amid a rise in government bonds. CDS curves steepened over the past month and macro hedging has left indices trading with positive skews. But CLOs paint a calmer picture in which spreads have inched tighter  

AlbaCore adds distressed hire among raft of new arrivals
AlbaCore Capital Group has added four hires to its investment team in recent weeks, taking its total headcount to 46

Carlyle holds first close on opportunistic credit fund amid 2020 'record fundraising'
Carlyle Group has held an initial closing on its second opportunistic credit fund amid a record credit fundraising year for the firm

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

Fund performance: CLO funds keep up momentum as Napier Park finishes top
2020 ended with funds in our CLOs category taking the top few spots