Private credit is not overcrowded — there is four times as much private equity dry powder
With much negative reporting around private credit, our columnist debunks oft-heard complaints

Raymond James scores first arranging credit with Deerpath CLO
Deerpath Capital Management has priced its second CLO backed by loans to middle market companies as Raymond James scored its first CLO arranging credit as co-placement agent

Dispersion tests hedge fund managers

PE firms look to go it alone as credit units reach maturity
Private equity firms are starting to weigh up the merits of housing private debt businesses, with TPG Capital the latest to contemplate splitting with its credit business TPG Sixth Street. It follows EQT Capital, which announced a strategic review in January centred on parting ways with its credit unit.

BDCs tap bond market to improve funding mix
A plethora of business development companies have turned to the institutional bond market to refinance their debt.

Points up front: Credit picking follows on from investor picking
Credit picking skills will be important this year amid heightened idiosyncratic risk, so everyone seems to say. But Ares Management, one of the biggest names in direct lending, has demonstrated that asset managers can also be picky with the mandates they take on, when the firm walked away from a private debt mandate with London CIV in January.

ESG pervades US CLOs but screening approach divided
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is reshaping the US CLO market, with February bringing the first CLOs marketed that have explicit ESG-related investment criteria.

Real assets are now the top picks in private credit
Direct lending is no longer the darling of the private credit market, with pension funds increasingly making space for credit strategies backed by real assets.

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

Fund performance: CLO funds pick up where they left off
A round-up of fund performance

Mid market CLO league tables: Sumitomo enters the ring
Golub Capital became the first middle market CLO manager to price two deals in 2020 after partnering with first time lead arranger, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Nikko in February

Fortress digests CraftWorks bankruptcy
CraftWorks Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, with Fortress Investments holding all of the Tennessee restaurant operator's first lien debt - of which over half is in middle market CLOs. The New York-based firm has submitted a “stalking horse” bid to buy CraftWorks' assets

Rhode Island to step up private and 'opportunistic' credit investments
Rhode Island State Investment Commission, which manages the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island, plans to increase its allocation to private credit and what it terms opportunisitic credit, according to investment consultant Cliffwater

Minnesota pension slates $600 million to four credit funds
Minnesota State Board of Investments has earmarked $600 million to four credit funds

Ohio pension makes commitment to private credit
School Employees Retirement System of Ohio is set to introduce a 5% private credit allocation to its portfolio  

US pension looks to put $60 million in private debt as older funds wind down
Boston Retirement System considers committing an additional $60 million to its private debt programme in 2020, following a recommendation by its investment consultant NEPC,  

Calpers backs proposal exempting private debt disclosure
Calpers, the largest US pension fund, is looking to sponsor a proposal exempting California pension funds from disclosing private debt information under the California Public Records Act

Sacramento pension earmarks $150 million for private credit in 2020
The pension fund expects to commit to two direct lending funds and one credit fund it describes as 'opportunistic'

Alaska pension commits $207 million to credit
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC) committed $207 million to credit funds and co-investments over the last quarter of 2019  

Mid-market lender Comvest sells minority stake to Affiliated Managers

Comvest Partners has sold a minority equity stake to Affiliated Managers Group. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.  

Hamilton Lane limits uncalled commitments with private market fund
Hamilton Lane has launched a private assets fund, in a strategy that will "seek to limit the exposure of uncalled commitments and shorten the duration of expected cash flows relative to a traditional portfolio”

Pantheon and Solutio join forces on €250 million private debt secondaries fund
Pantheon Ventures and Munich-based Solutio have held a final close on their inaugural joint private debt secondary fund above its €250 million hard-cap

Texas pension pumps $300 million into Pimco fund
Texas Municipal Retirement System has earmarked up to $300 million to a credit fund managed by Pimco, according to board documents seen by Creditflux, building on a relationship established through a predecessor fund

US pension earmarks $25 million for secondary direct lending investment
Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) is set to invest $25 million to a private credit fund through a secondary market transaction  

New York pension fund puts emphasis on sustainability with $800m credit allocation
The New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF) has put $800 million into credit with a strong sustainability focus, hiring Avenue, Calvert and Nuveen