Whitehelm holds €500 million first close on infrastructure debt strategy
Whitehelm Capital has held a €500 million first close on its infrastructure debt strategy, according to an announcement. Creditflux's sister publication Inframation reports that this is split between Whitehelm Capital Infrastructure Debt Partners I and managed accounts

Credit Rendezvous: the outlook in 2020 across a dozen segments of the credit market
Welcome to the Credit Rendezvous, the first instalment of a regular feature published by Creditflux that tracks credit market dynamics in a dozen segments from investment grade, liquid loans, CLOs and CSOs all the way through to distressed debt. We view this as the meeting point for credit specialists across strategies to share their perspectives

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

DC pension set to invest in private debt assets
Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), a UK based pension scheme, is set to enable the members of its defined contribution (DC) section to get exposure to private markets assets, including private debt, from February

Pantheon joins forces with Kermony in France
Pantheon has announced an exclusive 'introducer relationship' in France with Kermony Capital today, which is set to introduce Pantheon’s private debt capabilities to French investors  

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

Private debt tops the private markets agenda for insurers, finds Schroders
Insurers currently allocate the largest proportion of their private assets’ portfolio to private debt, followed by real estate, according to study published by asset manager Schroders  

NNIP hires head of alternative credit as it shakes up private markets platform
The hire will be responsible for overseeing NNIP’s €40 billion alternative credit platform – including its corporate debt, residential mortgages, commercial real estate lending, eca/government loans and infrastructure debt/project finance strategies

JP Morgan AM moves CFO to head up private credit
The chief financial officer of JP Morgan Asset Management has switched to a newly created role as head of private credit

Managers acquiesce on fees as small UK pensions seek private credit nest egg
Private credit fund managers are rejigging their fee structures in order to attract small UK pension schemes.

Ucits at a glance: Ucits continue to chart a steady course

Ucits at a glance: ucits continue to chart a steady course

BNP Paribas AM set to launch Nest-like private credit offer to UK pensions
French manager BNP Paribas Asset Management is set to launch a diversified private credit fund for smaller UK pension funds over the first half of 2020, similar to the one it structured for the pension scheme Nest  

UK pension partnership launches maiden private credit offering at £581 million
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (BCPP) is set to commit £581 million in private credit, as part of its maiden offering in this asset class  

Italian journalists set for greater exposure to infrastructure debt
The pension fund for Italian journalists has launched a request for proposals in which it seeks exposure to infrastructure debt, along with infrastructure equity

45% of insurers look to increase private debt allocations, finds Natixis IM survey
Private debt allocations are expected to grow for 45% of insurers over the next three years, according to a recent survey by Natixis Investment Management. But regulation and internal restrictions are the biggest challenges to greater adoption of private markets allocation

Azimut hires ex-Dyal official as it aims to buy minority equity in asset managers
Azimut will initially focus on acquiring minority stakes in alternative asset managers with under $3 billion AUM – including private credit, private equity, infrastructure and real estate firms

Canadian pension awards €300 million to middle market real estate debt
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has awarded €300 million to a separately managed account focused on real estate across Spain and Portugal. The pension fund did not name who this partnership was with 

Allianz GI names CEO and head of investments as Utermann steps down
Allianz Global Investors has named Tobias Pross as chief executive officer and Deborah Zurkow as global head of investments, following the resignation of Andreas Utermann

Mayer Brown adds leveraged finance partner in Frankfurt
Mayer Brown has appointed Bernina Butt to its banking and finance practice as partner

Man hires real estate loan specialist from JP Morgan
Man Group has hired an investment director to its European private debt team

Italian private bank partners with Tikehau for private asset fund with ESG focus
Italian private bank Fideuram Investimenti has launched a private markets fund that gives investors access to private debt, among other asset classes  

UK pension hires BNP Paribas AM for starring role in core-satellite private credit fund
UK pension fund Nest has appointed BNP Paribas Asset Management to run the core of a private credit fund, sources say, in an arrangement which sees Amundi and BlackRock manage certain satellite investments  

Ucits at a glance
A round-up of ucits fund performance

HSBC Global AM hires to private markets team in London
HSBC Global Asset Management has appointed Jorge Huitron to serve as senior product specialist for private markets, within its alternatives team