Muzinich adds ex-CIO of boutique amid raft of credit hires
Muzinich has made five hires to its corporate credit business 

Vontobel names fixed income trading head amid four senior hires
Vontobel Asset Management has appointed four senior hires to its team including a newly created role of head of fixed income trading

Roll pushes indices wider but fair value trumps technical positioning
Several CDS indices rolled into new series on Monday, with all of them adding spread over the outgoing versions due to added duration as well as composition changes

Yield rise is buying signal for bonds, says BNP Paribas
Credit spreads are set to hit new cyclical tights in the coming months, with the recent rise in yields having offered an attractive entry point especially for high-rated bonds, say BNP Paribas credit strategists

ESG basket grows and rising stars take focus in CDS index roll changes
Expansion of the ESG investing universe is a prominent feature of this month's roll of iTraxx and CDX indices into new series. Improved credit performance of high yield companies is also a focus, with several moving up into investment grade portfolios

Retail investors gain access to private credit with Northleaf Mackenzie fund launch
IGM Financial’s Mackenzie Investments has teamed up with direct lender Northleaf Capital Partners to launch a global private credit fund for accredited retail investors

Brazil upheaval sends EM spreads to new wides
Emerging market credit spreads are reaching new wides, with Brazil holding focus in the sell off amid a spike of covid 19 cases and deaths well beyond the country’s previous peak. Elsewhere credit is in a stable range but underperforming a more buoyant turn in other asset classes

Captor builds CDS use-case as it launches smart beta strategy
Stockholm-based Captor Fund Management is readying a fund that will aim to beat cash bond benchmarks by investing in CDS indices, adding to signs of broader appetite for the asset class

Broad sell off resumes as government yields head north
Caution is returning at the end of a stronger week for credit, as government bond yields resume their push higher. Asian and European markets followed the US lead from Wednesday with ubiquitous widening of spreads across indices and single names

Credit funds at a glance (March 2021)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Fund performance: CLO funds pick up where they left off
New year, same funds leading the way with CLO strategies the top performers in January

Ucits at a glance: CIFC nears positive 12-month returns
Ucits funds have started 2021 on a quiet note as 72% of funds achieved a positive return

Credit hedge funds (March 2021)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Resurgent CSO market bets on ESG and new equity
After a challenging 2020 the synthetic bespoke market has begun this year in style, with a pipeline of deals, talk of new investors and hopes that ESG could play a key role in driving deal volumes

High yield fund sets pace with 22% return in January
Wasserstein Debt Opportunities Fund has set the early pace for credit hedge funds in 2021 after registering a 21.7% gain in January. This builds on the high yield fund’s success last year and takes 12-month returns to 40.44%. 

It's all relative: CLOs march tighter as macro traders open positive CDS skews
Credit default swaps are back near where they started the year after giving up their early-February gains amid a rise in government bonds. CDS curves steepened over the past month and macro hedging has left indices trading with positive skews. But CLOs paint a calmer picture in which spreads have inched tighter  

Credit fundraising: ESG centre stage as capital pours into new strategies
Sustainability was the watchword for fundraising in February, amid a flurry of fund launches as well as first closes for impact funds and sustainable bond funds

Renewed energy boosts credit as relief rally resumes
Energy companies are performing well and credit indices have resumed their push tighter after a strong surge inwards Monday, outpacing moves in other parts of the financial market

Credit makes strong gains in relief rally
The week has opened on a stronger tone amid a calming of government bond yields, conducive manufacturing data in Europe and a new covid-19 vaccine approval in the US

Single names hit hard as financial markets play catch-up on rate moves
Credit indices have firmed up after Thursday's rates-led sell off, but other asset classes continue to slide and Friday's focus turns to single name borrower spreads playing a  catch-up with the sharp macro move

US and European gov yield rise spooks credit market
Credit markets took a decisive shift wider on Thursday, as rising US and European government bond yields rattled investors despite the European Central Bank signalling it will take a flexible approach to bonds to prevent fiscal tightening

February credit gains wiped out as inflation fears rise
A successive move wider in spreads on Tuesday is taking credit back to start of February levels, as investors try to weigh inflation concerns and a US tech stock rout against reopening economies and advancing commodity prices

Rates moves points to credit improvement, say BofA strategists
Focus on the rates market and the future direction of central banks has brought jitters back to credit in recent weeks and had a chilling affect on bond total returns. But higher government yields could end up being good for credit, say Bank of America strategists

CLO equity investor bullish as it offers new share class on listed fund
The London-based manager is offering shareholders in its publicly traded junior CLO fund the chance to invest in a new listed share class - and it remains bullish on global CLO equity

Italian banks widen sharply as risk-on drive falters
Italian banks are among Wednesday's underperformers as single name credits play catch up with a shift wider in indices, amid signs the recent bull run is petering out