They said it: "I enjoy problem-solving and puzzles"
CQS founder Sir Michael Hintze on his role as senior investment officer at the London-based credit fund manager

Retail fund pain is a CLO manager’s gain
Retail funds dumped loans in record volumes late in 2018, creating ideal conditions for CLOs to capitalise with performing credits available in the mid-90s for the first time in years

Global CLO league tables: new year, new issues
Momentum in the CLO market at the start of 2019 is less forceful than it was at the beginning of 2018 and 2017, on the basis of opening volumes

Isda seeks fallback spread vendor for derivatives
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association is seeking an independent service provider to calculate and publish adjustments to fallbacks it will use in interest rate benchmarks for its Isda definitions

Performing credit tops distressed credit for Blackstone, but credit AUM declines
The firm is looking to boost its direct lending business to gain $10 billion of available capital over the next couple of years

CIFC launches its first CLO Ucits fund
CIFC Asset Management has become the latest manager to launch a new CLO Ucits fund

Lazard appoints co-heads of sustainable investment and ESG
Lazard Asset Management has appointed co-heads of sustainable investment and ESG across both sides of the Atlantic 

Golding holds €580 million final close for private debt fund
Golding Capital Partners has held a final close for its private debt fund strategy at €580 million

Central counterparties need to improve after Nasdaq Clearing member default, says Isda
Derivative central counterparties (CCPs) must look to make a number of improvements to risk practices, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association has said in a paper that follows a clearing member default at Nasdaq Clearing in September

Värde names co-deputy CIO and two partners
Värde Partners has announced the promotion of its global head of private debt, transportation and energy to deputy chief investment officer 

Dealers gear up to settle Sears CDS and rule on Ziggo successor
The long wait to settle the final price of Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit default swaps will end today with a credit event auction, while investors could also learn whether there is successor to contracts referencing deregistered Ziggo Bond Finance

Credit spread improvement is calm before the storm, warn strategists
European and US credit markets have begun 2019 with a more buoyant tone than they ended 2018, but strategists warn that bearish factors still outweigh and suggest the overall direction of spreads this year is likely to be wider

CLO equity a "top trade" for 2019, but beware ratings risk, says JP Morgan
CLO equity is one of the top trades of 2019, according to research analysts at JP Morgan in a research paper published on Friday, noting that the asset class offers ‘sticky capital in a volatile cycle'

BlueBay targets €5 billion for European direct lending strategy
BlueBay Asset Management is targeting €5 billion for its latest European direct lending strategy, according to documents seen by Creditflux, and has won $125 million in commitments from two US pension funds

Global 2018 CLO league tables at a glance
A snapshot of the overall league tables as of 31 December 2018

JP Morgan makes big hire to its global credit trading desk
An experienced banker who has covered CLOs, CSOs, loan TRS and credit derivatives, has joined JP Morgan after leaving BNP Paribas 

Majority of investors seek to increase private credit allocations, BlackRock survey reveals
Over half of investors plan to increase their allocation to private credit in 2019, according to an institutional client rebalancing report published by BlackRock

JP Morgan AM's global fixed income chief steps down
JP Morgan Asset Management’s global fixed income and currency and commodities group chief investment officer has departed the firm, a spokesperson has confirmed

I liked it when banks could hold risk and actually had inventory to shift
Louis Gargour, CIO of LNG Capital, takes our credit quiz

Disputes break out over cure contribution terms
CLO market participants are divided over the use of cure contributions — a mechanism that allows majority equity investors to put cash into the CLO to prevent a deal from breaching its overcollateralisation or interest coverage tests. In return for keeping a CLO ticking, sources say equity investors expect to be paid a rate of return of around 20%

We are yet to find a mass-media article that devotes attention to the potential merits of CLOs
Far too many recent mass-media articles critical of the CLO market are heavy on the hyperbole and light on the facts, writes our columnist and Eagle Point founder Thomas Majewski

2018 breaks more records as US new issue CLO volumes pass $125 billion
US new issue CLO volumes for 2018 currently stand at $125.68 billion, making 2018 a record-breaking year for the sector, according to CLO-i data

Loan volumes fall in Europe but rise in US
European CLO managers seem to be eating into the loan market with more appetite than their, US counterparts, who are perhaps spoiled for choice. But background risks lurk in both markets