Axa IM extends palm oil policy to cover ecosystem protection and deforestation
Axa Investment Managers says it is expanding its 2014 policy of excluding investments in companies which do not have sustainable palm oil production certificates by factoring in deforestation and ecosystem protection

Credit fundraising: Audax scores big in lighter month
Fundraising markedly dropped in May, but credit funds still amassed $12.8 billion and 10 credit funds reached final closes across a variety of different strategies

"In the afternoon I awoke from a pile of willow leaves to discover we had created a Welsh ether-based token"
A localised crypto-currency boom and bust cycle teaches Welshcake (again) that everything becomes correlated in a downturn  

Focus shifts to macro views amid blurry relative value picture
Relative value trading has become a difficult place to operate in credit, with previously effective strategies such as compression, pairs and basis hard to discern and opportunities difficult to source, according to portfolio managers. 

Single Bs bomb as beta narrative shifts
Few signalled themes in credit have died away as quickly as that of the outperformance of single B rated credit, which several firms proposed at the start of May but soon found crushed by a cocktail of worries around inflation, central bank policy, supply and high yield fund outflows

"We should be mindful of the transfer of power to the C-suite that inheres in ESG"
As shareholder returns become one factor among many, the C-suite becomes more powerful  

Fund performance: CLO funds outperform as two hit over 100% 12-months return
CLO funds swatted away the competition in April on their way to dominating our top 10 credit hedge fund return table after an upbeat month

Credit hedge funds (June 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit bull run picks up amid commodities surge
European credit spreads have made a sharp turn for the tighter, building on last week's strong run, even after Asian spreads weakened on rising commodity costs

Credit grind makes it five days out of five in bullish week
Credit markets are heading into the weekend on a fifth straight day of improving spreads, amid signs of returning economic confidence and appetite to invest in the asset class

Financials and high yield outperform as rally gathers momentum
Credit spreads are enjoying a second day of improvement to regain some of the ground they lost last week, with Italian banks, commodity traders and higher yielding borrowers among outperformers in a broad rally of both indices and single name borrowers

Sell-off regathers momentum as inflation signals mount
A glum mood has returned to financial markets, beginning with the US session on Tuesday and overspilling into global trading on Wednesday

Financials and high yield corps retrace tighter after inflation shake out
Credit markets firmed up on Tuesday, with European single name CDS finding a chance to recover some ground after Monday's inflation-led weakness. But credit indices underperformed, struggling to return tighter even as stock indices advanced once again and oil prices hit new highs

Credit underperformance resumes as equity turns corner
Credit markets are pushing wider once again on Wednesday, even though stock markets look to regaining some composure following Tuesday's steep sell off

"The lack of standardised ESG data creates opportunities for data-driven investors"
Investors can gain an edge by using technology to help parse ESG data

Woah, we’re halfway there
Judging by the 2020 vintage, European CLO overlap is 50%. But varied approaches to holding bonds and the many loans managers turn down mean there are ways for issuers to outperform

LP round up: $3.2 billion flows to 21 managers as private credit illiquidity premium holds firm
Investors allocated at least $3.2 billion to credit managers in April - and direct lending funds were in favour with Churchill and Ares being awarded two mandates

Fund performance: Lightning strikes twice as range of credit funds deliver
What seemed like a chance occurrence in February has struck again in March, as seven categories make our top 10 best performing hedge funds

Credit hedge funds (May 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit and stocks regain composure on rates as oil hits new heights
Credit and equity markets have improved again on Wednesday morning, after US treasury secretary Janet Yellen's comments about possible rate rises spooked markets on Tuesday afternoon

M&A drives movers in high yield and investment grade
Acquisition talks are having the biggest impact on European credit spreads on Tuesday following the UK bank holiday, with several names moving against an otherwise flat market

Banks set to offer client clearing of credit index options
Bank members of LCH, the London Stock Exchange's clearing arm, will soon start offering client clearing of CDS index options, as the industry prepares for its next ramp up of margining requirements

Standard Life Aberdeen 2 rbrnd 2 Abrdn
Standard Life Aberdeen has announced that it is changing its name to Abrdn (pronounced Aberdeen) 

Picard and Cleveland-Cliffs underscore high yield single name sensitivity
Picard entered a relief rally on Friday after postponing a triple-tranche bond deal backing a refinancing and shareholder dividend

CME touts forward-looking Sofr term benchmarks
CME Group has begun publishing term benchmarks for the secured overnight interest rate (Sofr) as part of the global push to move away from Libor in financial markets