Correlation rise stokes mezz rally but adds to CSO woes
Below the calm surface of the credit market, correlation has been churning and creating dislocations rich with reward for index tranche traders but complicating bespoke issuance, say sources.

CSO arrangers take notes from success of CLOs
CSO arrangers are looking to follow the CLO template in more ways than one, with sources indicating that some dealers are looking to structure their deals in note format (as opposed to swaps).

BTIG hires strategist to cover US and European financials
Nandana Shenoy has joined BTIG in New York to work as a strategist covering US and European financials, according to an announcement by the brokerage

Italian financials put Europe's best foot forward as US outperforms
Financial credits are once again leading the way as the market continues this week’s sharp return rally

Private credit funds could find better buying opportunities this year, says NEPC
Institutional investors looking to allocate to private credit in 2020 should focus on distressed debt, opportunistic credit and niche lending, according to investment consultant NEPC, with 2019 vintage funds potentially seeing “better buying opportunities” despite valuations being at cyclical highs

US races to catch Europe as rally opens CDS gap
US credit is playing catch-up with Europe in today’s session, after the iTraxx Europe CDS index opened a 4.5bp gap with CDX IG before the US market opened

Yielco collects €675 million across two private debt fund of fund strategies
The Munich-based firm held a final close on its inaugural private debt fund of funds strategy and has also won a separate prive debt mandate

Credit traders' kickstand: full reversal for Crossover as coronavirus spreads
European high yield CDS index iTraxx Crossver is ending the week back at around 230bp, in effect undoing all its improvement since the start of December

Investors preferred real asset debt to corporate private debt in 2019, finds Bfinance
Bfinance stated that, in dollar terms, real asset debt searches conducted by investors outweighed corporate private debt searches in 2019

Skew trading discord as single name CDS snub index rally
The credit market’s reappraisal of risk today, following from Monday’s widening on coronavirus fears, comes with a marked dislocation between the performance of CDS indices and their underlying constituents

European financials outperform corporates as coronavirus spreads
Financial CDS is outperforming corporate credit today, and Europe outperforming the US, as the market jumps wider on rising alarm at the spread of China’s novel coronavirus

Credit event protocol goes into force with 60 extra sign-ups
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association is going live today with a protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from the CDS market, having signed up 1,358 entities

Portfolio managers wary of US default rates, IACPM survey reveals
Portfolio managers are more pessimistic about North American corporate defaults in the next 12 months than other global regions, according to the latest survey by the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers

Pimco launches listed multi-sector global credit fund
Known as Pimco Tactical Income Fund, the fund will invest in a range of global credit strategies and will list on the New York Stock Exchange

Tabula adds dollar-hedged class to credit volatility ETF
Tabula Investment Management, a fixed income exchange traded fund (ETF) provider, has added a US dollar-hedged class to a product that captures the difference between realised and implied volatility in the CDS index options market

Four days left to join narrowly tailored credit event protocol
Those market participants yet to sign up to the International Swaps & Derivatives Association’s protocol on narrowly tailored credit events have until Friday to do so

Credit traders’ kickstand: primary market flood gives basis for relative value
A deluge of investment grade bond supply in the first two weeks of the year has weighed on the spread basis between the cash market and CDS, leaving opportunities for traders who believe this dislocation should correct over the coming weeks

Partners nears $100 billion in AUM as CLOs drive private debt growth
Swiss manager Partners Group has reached $94.1 billion in assets under management, with CLOs boosting the firm’s growth, according to its 2019 annual results  

BC Partners seeks $1 billion close for special opportunities fund
BC Partners Advisors is targeting a $1 billion close for its recently launched special opportunities fund, according to documents seen by Creditflux.  

Apollo CLO and CSO specialists earn promotion to partner
Apollo Global Management has promoted two members of its global structured credit team, according to market sources

Stockholm-based firm targets CLOs, CSOs and SRTs for new fund after stellar 2019
A fund manager, established in 2018, is said to be launching its second corporate structured credit fund, sources say, after generating 20% returns last year via its debut strategy. The new fund will invest across CLOs, CSOs, SRTs and index tranches 

Credit traders' kickstand: convergence trades rewarded as financials outperform
Compression is the watchword in credit at the start of the year, with the market’s navigation of post-crisis tight prints bringing an outperformance of financial names over corporate borrowers and US over European indices

Park Square promotes four after departure of direct lending head
Park Square has announced four promotions to partner, which comes a couple of months after its head of direct lending Howard Sharp parted ways with the firm, as previously reported by Debtwire

This is not just wider: M&S stands apart as CDS picks new tights
As credit spreads head back into post-crisis record tight territory amid a softening of tone between the US and Iran, retailer Marks & Spencer is bucking the rally having issued a profit warning today

Portfolio Advisors hits first close as it targets $1.5 billion for secondaries fund
Private markets specialist Portfolio Advisors has completed a first close on its latest secondaries fund at the end of December 2019, having raised between $600m to $700m, a source told Creditflux