Connection hires from Invesco for head of funds role
London's Connection Capital has named Lorna Robertson as the firm’s new head of funds

Texas pension fund creates new credit bucket
The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has approved a 3% opportunistic credit allocation, according to documents from an investment advisory committee meeting in March seen by Creditflux  

Kartesia fills vacancy in DACH with key hire from Bayside
Kartesia has hired Guiseppe Mirante as its head of credit opportunities for DACH, according to an announcement today

Private credit delivers strong returns for Finnish pension
Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER) has generated 12.4% from its private credit funds for 2018, according to its latest annual report  

Alaska pension commits $545 million to seven credit funds
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation has earmarked $545 million to funds across the credit spectrum across Q2, according to 27 February board documentation

Illiquid credit boost returns for PensionDanmark
PensionDanmark has generated 5.8% returns from its illiquid credit portfolio for the year 2018, according to its latest annual report published today. But its liquid credit portfolio took a 3.4% hit

San Francisco pension deploys $125 million into private credit
San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System has bolstered its private debt bucket, making a $125 million commitment to a senior debt fund and opportunistic credit fund that builds on other private debt investments since last year

Allianz IM puts $200 million into Indian private debt
Allianz Investment Management has committed $200 million into the private debt platform of Edelweiss, an Indian diversified financial services firm.  

It’s going to be a credit picker’s market
Our panel of experts believe that the credit market will be volatile this year, but there will be opportunities in European credit and additional tier one bonds, trups CDOs and unitranches

Oaktree reports distressed gains over year despite Q4 losses
Oaktree was not immune from challenging fourth quarter globally. Its distressed debt strategy, for instance, returned a gross loss of 1.5%

New York pension fund allocates $150 million to special situations fund
The new investment will sit within the pension fund’s opportunistic alternatives bucket

New York pension ups commitment to HarbourVest by $400 million
New York State Teachers' Retirement System has topped up commitments to Maple Fund, having already approved $600 million in 2017

Performing credit tops distressed credit for Blackstone, but credit AUM declines
The firm is looking to boost its direct lending business to gain $10 billion of available capital over the next couple of years

AnaCap buys €4 billion Italian SME loan portfolio
AnaCap Financial Partners has made its first transaction of its fourth credit opportunities fund 

San Francisco pension plans to deploy $800 million to private credit in 2019
San Francisco Employee’s Retirement System will allocate $800 million to its private credit bucket in the coming year, to reach its 10% target allocation 

Californian pension to invest $500 million in private markets in 2019
San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association plans to invest $500 million in private assets over 2019, according to a presentation by the pension fund’s investment consultant NEPC.  

New York pension fund allocates €250 million to European credit manager
A $207.4 billion pension fund has awarded the mandate to a multi-strategy credit fund managed by EQT Partners 

Proskauer expands restructuring practice with partner in London
Law firm Proskauer Rose has strengthened its restructuring capabilities with the appointment of Elisabeth Baltay as partner

Robus targets €300 million for second distressed debt fund
Robus Capital has held a first close for its second distressed fund, Robus Recovery Fund II, Creditflux understands

Värde raises $400 million for Asia credit fund
Värde Partners has closed its inaugural Asia-focused fund at $400 million - six months after launching

KKR promotes three European credit specialists to managing directors
KKR has promoted several members of its team to managing directors - including a former US CLO portfolio manager

Blackstone builds on multi-asset approach with fifth fund
The new vehicle will invest directly into Blackstone deals across its alternatives platform

Recent CLO debutant Vista brings in GSO official to lead credit team
Vista Credit Partners has hired a former GSO official to lead its credit team

San Francisco pension ramps up private credit portfolio with $80 million commitments
The $24.5 billion pension fund currently has a 2.2% actual allocation to private credit, despite a 10% target allocation