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

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

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  

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

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

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

Europe resumes rally in US absence with Italian spreads hitting new records
Caution about a possible Draghi bubble looks to be a rare commodity, as Italy sovereign and bank spreads are once again among the biggest improvers in a buoyant start to the week

Draghi support keeps Italy in driving seat as markets slow
A cautious tone has re-entered the credit market ahead of the long US weekend, with spreads edging wider along with softening stocks and oil prices. But some Italian credits are bucking the trend

Compression trades grind into gear as spreads narrow
Compression between high yield and investment grade credit looks to be finally gaining traction in February, having been identified by some strategists at the start of the year as a key 2021 theme

Curve steepeners gain ground with inflation in focus
Credit performance this week has done little for market-directional trading strategies, but one area gaining traction beneath headline numbers is the steepening of curves

Credit returns to year-opening levels as bulls score five out five
Credit markets are on course for their fifth straight day of improvement, with CDS index spreads not only undoing last week's volatile move wider but regaining the tight levels at which they began the year

It's all relative: CLOs are lagging no more, as Carlyle deal drags market tighter
“CLOs are lagging” has been a much repeated refrain over the last nine months. But Carlyle Group has this week produced a US CLO that has dragged spreads to their tightest point in three years so that, rather than comparing CLOs to pre-covid levels, they should be assessed against early 2018

Credit trends wider as it makes bad first compression in 2021
With credit spreads starting the year close to the absolute tights they reached in early 2020, investor emphasis is heavily on relative value. But so far the most signposted of these trading strategies are failing to perform, while market-neutral opportunities have greatly diminished

High yield credits play catch up as central banks put brakes on bull run
High yield single names gained attention on Thursday, as financial markets took a breather after three days of improvement to digest UK and China central bank policy signals

Biden buzz highlight's credit's growing pains
Stimulus and a “reflationary window” are the dominant themes of early 2021, particularly in the US, and they will favour growth assets over credit in the near term, say investors.