Oaktree mixes defensive with opportunistic in new fund for recent hire
Oaktree Capital Management has launched a standalone absolute return fixed income fund for recent hire Brad Boyd, according to market sources

Pandemic underlines importance of the S in ESG as compliant companies outperform
For years, assessing environmental risks has been at the forefront of ESG (environmental, social, governance) investing, but there’s been a greater appreciation of the ‘S’ in ESG since the market sell-off in March

Oak Hill launches 'tactical' investment fund
Oak Hill Advisors is on the fundraising trail with regulatory filings indicating the credit specialist is launching a vehicle known as OHA Tactical Investment Fund

PGIM prepares listed credit fund
PGIM is marketing a ‘flexible’ listed fund, dubbed PGIM Strategic Credit Fund , to invest at least 80% across fixed income

Investcorp targets most liquid loans for new European credit fund
Investcorp Credit Management is targeting “the largest and most liquid European issues” after raising €318 million for a levered credit fund that invests in European loans

Fund performance: CLO tranches move up
April returns managed a partial bounce back after a tumultuous March. 82% of funds listed in the Creditflux database made positive returns, showing at least small signs of recovery after 90% of all funds listed posted negative returns in March

Credit funds at a glance (June 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Ucits at a glance: Ucits begin recovery phase
April returns prove positive for Ucits funds as 85% of those listed in the Creditflux database have moved into the black after a rough March

Eaton Vance signals intention to raise new credit fund
Eaton Vance Management has filed a preliminary prospectus with the SEC for a new opportunistic credit fund, Eaton Vance Income Opportunities Fund

Leveraged loan spreads to widen to March levels, warn UBS strategists
US leveraged loan spreads could widen back to March levels of 825 basis points as default risk increases, according to strategists at UBS.

Sculptor doubles global credit exposure in master fund amid dislocation
Sculptor Capital Management has doubled its global credit exposure in its Master Fund during the covid-19 volatility, according to the firm’s Q1 earnings call

KKR takes covid-19 hit on flagship credit funds and lev fin
KKR took a 16% hit to returns on its alternative credit flagship funds amid the first quarter coronavirus downturn and a 13% loss on leveraged credit, taking these into negative territory for the last 12 months. The firm's private equity portfolio also slumped by 12%

Alecta partners with PGGM for SRT co-investments
Swedish pension fund Alecta has formed a co-investment partnership with PGGM to invest in significant risk transfers

On-site due diligence rules pose fundraising challenge
Stipulations in some fund limited partner bylaws dictating strict due diligence could pose a challenge for asset managers, sources say

Cairn wins €115 million for European loan fund
Cairn Capital's open-ended European Loan Fund has reached €380 million assets under management, following €115 million in commitments from two institutional investors

Apollo earmarks $20 billion for dislocation fundraising over 12 months
Apollo's returns for corporate credit, structured credit and direct origination in the first quarter were down 8.3%, 14.7% and 4.8%, respectively, but the firm is looking to launch various credit strategies, including capital solutions, dislocation strategies and distressed strategies, that it “expects to accumulate $20 billion over the next year”

Credit Rendezvous: recovery begins, but is it U, V or even W?
Investing in credit is not as easy as ABC. The coronavirus crisis has crushed valuations and although most assets will eventually pull to par, no one is sure how the recovery will pan out

Pimco promotes European HY head to global head of loans
Pimco has promoted David Forgash to head of global leveraged loans and has appointed ex-Deutsche Bank official Roman Kogan to its European commercial real estate team 

Bardin Hill pulls in $300 million for first close of opportunistic credit fund
Bardin Hill has held a first close on an opportunistic credit fund at around $300 million, according to sources familiar with the matter

CVC looks to cut quarterly tenders from 25% to 10% in listed credit fund
CVC Credit Partners is looking to amend quarterly tender terms through shareholder approval on its its listed credit fund to "respond to changes relating to covid-19 pandemic in the best way possible"

Scor introduces swing pricing on European loan fund
Scor Investment Partners has introduced partial ‘swing pricing’ on all classes of its Scor European Loans Fund, effective Friday “to preserve its clients' long-term interest in challenging market conditions”

Silver lining: credit investors provided with lower entry points than Q4 2018
Oil shocks and the coronavirus outbreak, along with aftermath effects such as US Federal Reserve interventions and lockdowns, is providing credit investors with lower entry points than the Q4 2018 sell-off, say sources. Furthermore, an expected U-shaped rather than V-shaped recovery could provide a greater money multiple for opportunistic investments - if they can access them 

CVC listed credit fund 'pre-emptively' sheds covid-19 related positions
CVC Credit has taken a conservative approach to addressing covid-19 volatility in its listed opportunistic credit fund, with the fund divesting several credit positions to manage risk 

Nordea's former head of sustainable loans resurfaces at Handelsbanken
The former head of sustainable loans at Nordea will join Handelsbanken debt capital markets team in May

Alcentra prepares listed credit fund
BNY Mellon Investment Advisor has teamed up with affiliate Alcentra to launch a listed fund that can invest across a range of credit strategies