Points up front: Private equity is the enemy
Damien Dwin of Brightwood Capital Advisors was one of the most talked about speakers at Credit?ux’s Private Credit conference last month in New York, raising a laugh with his forthright comments about private equity ?rms.

Managers take baby steps into retail loans
Retail loans have been out of favour among fund managers for some time, and although this sentiment persists, CLO-i data shows that there is an active two-way market for certain names

Oaktree set to buy mid-market specialist Fifth Street, reports WSJ
Oaktree Capital Management is leading the chase to buy middle-market US lender Fifth Street Asset Management, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal

Things aren’t always what they seem
Buy CLO triple As but don’t be fooled by diversity scores; take a look at credit index futures if you need liquidity; and watch out for quasi-mid market loans appearing in CLOs

PGIM takes top spot as credit market celebrates
PGIM was the big winner at the Creditflux Manager Awards dinner on 3 May after scooping up the coveted manager of the year award

Japanese bank rides refinancing wave with mid-market CLO push
A key CLO investor is buying middle-market CLO paper for the first time after purchasing $1.2 billion of senior notes in a recent deal

Fifth Street looks to quit CLO management as it winds down credit hedge fund
Fifth Street Asset Management is streamlining its business and its three middle-market CLOs and credit hedge fund will be cut as part of this process

Apollo subsidiary prices $1.2 billion mid-market CLO
While the field of middle-market CLO managers is relatively small, newcomers to this business have been able to successfully raise large amounts of capital with Midcap Financial Services Capital Management the latest to produe a $1 billion-plus CLO

Onex eyes CLO resets as seasoned 2.0s reach reinvestment end
Onex Corporation held its earnings call last week, during which officials at the firm underlined the importance of resetting seasoned US CLOs into new structures

Wells Fargo adds step-up tranche as it prices mid-market CLO
Wells Fargo has priced a $300 million CLO which features a step-up tranche that activates after two years

Ares wins $1.1 billion in global direct lending SMAs in strong start to 2017
Direct lending proved to be Ares Management’s most successful strategy in fundraising terms with the firm registering $1.1 billion of inflows for European and US private debt in the first quarter

Credit manager ICG hires west coast marketer
London-based credit manager Intermediate Capital Group has announced that it has hired a marketing specialist on the US west coast

Sumitomo eyes mid-market CLOs
SMBC has decided to try its hand at CLO arranging 

Investing ethically is worth it
Managers could see less volatile returns as a result of their increasing adoption of ESG-friendly portfolios; meanwhile direct lending is spreading across Europe

Join the debate
What's wrong with non-sponsored direct lending?

A star is born as Antares re-debuts in CLOs with largest 2.0
Antares Capital is back in the CLO market with a (big) bang

Europe’s direct lenders edge closer to CLOs
Direct lenders are increasingly adding leverage to their funds, creating a slow evolution from direct lending funds into quasi middle-market CLOs

Move up the stack to avoid implosion
Pundit warns investors to be concerned about return of their principal – but senior loans may be a safe haven as credit yields are squeezed and high yield becomes crowded