Know the best way to crack direct lending? Be a true ‘direct’ lender
Varagon's chief executive claims that there is a big difference between being a follower and a leader in direct lending

Calling all direct lenders: don’t do this…
Direct lending seems to be the hottest ticket in town, with middle market loan managers finding fundraising to be a cinch. However, several advisors have warned of the pitfalls managers should avoid when they pitch their funds to institutional investors

Points up front: a few weeks' worth of dual compliance
Dual compliance is so 2017. And yet European CLO managers are pursuing US risk retention compliance. Perhaps memories of 2013 are resurfacing

Making it to the top: women reflect on changes in the CLO industry
As a growing number of women break the glass ceiling and take senior positions in CLO firms, Creditflux asked about the opportunities and challenges they face. By Michelle D’Souza

Structured credit investors look beyond US RMBS
Re-remic, re-performing loans, non-performing loans and single family rental securitisations have come into favour as non-agency RMBS issuance dries up

Join the debate: most memorable moment in credit
At Creditflux we’ve now produced 200 monthly magazines since Fishknife first came up with the idea of tracking the global credit markets in 2001). We asked several key credit industry officials about their most memorable moment in credit

Dedication pays off in risk sharing
Fund managers are pitching dedicated CRT funds to institutional investors as market hits €75 billion in 2017 and US banks start to take notice. By Sayed Kadiri

Drug makers: desperately seeking pain relief
With Teva’s profitable Copaxone being undermined by cheaper alternatives, the company is in need of a pick-me-up. By Euan Hagger

Staying afloat in credit takes care and character
In his final article, our columnist sheds light on his identity and has some 'nice' advice for those navigating credit’s changeable oceans

Direct lenders pile into "turbocharged" market as fundraising skyrockets: report
Growth in the direct lending market in the 12 months to 31 December was “turbocharged,” growing robustly in the fourth quarter 2017 in particular due to a consistently growing Eurozone economy, according to Deloitte

T. Rowe to reduce assets and change investment objective for bond mega-fund
T. Rowe Price is seeking to change the investment objective on its $2.65 billion International Bond fund – while also reallocating $850 million in assets away from the fund

Columbia unveils new Luxembourg-domiciled global credit strategy
Columbia Threadneedle has unveiled its newest credit fund, which will emulate the investment approach taken by its €2 billion predecessor fund

Distressed credit specialist rakes in $781 million for global debt fund
Balbec Capital's latest global credit fund has a $1 billion target

B-wic round-up: secondary CLO market is looking more and more like new issue
2017 and 2018 CLOs flooded the secondary market last week, with bonds referencing Ares Management, LCM Asset Management and Napier Park Global Capital going on sale

B-wic round-up: mid market CLOs find new homes in secondary market
The US secondary CLO market has had another eventful week as $908.2 million worth of CLO notes were made available, out of which $693.2 million, or 76.3%, traded successfully

Structured credit PM earns promotion as Pimco unveils new managing directors
Structured credit portfolio manager Russell Gannaway is among seven officials to have been promoted to managing director at Pimco

Anchorage wins $75 million ticket for global credit fund
A US pension fund has approved an investment in the upcoming Anchorage credit fund

AMP promotes three within infrastructure debt after fundraising success
Global investment manager AMP Capital has promoted three within its UK and US infrastructure debt team, which it says reflects the record growth of its business

Strengthen CDS definitions to stop engineered defaults, say lawyers
The likelihood of stamping out manipulation in the credit default swaps market – namely the practice of staging credit events – is remote, say market sources

Past returns: Europe's own risk retention rewrite
Five years ago we reported that European CLO managers were hunting for partners to retain risk retention on their behalf. Shortly after, regulators performed a U-turn (nothing new here) and decided to prohibit third parties from acting as risk retainers

Join the debate: flippin' heck, you're distorting the CLO market
After our report on a CLO investor flipping 2018 bonds before the deals had even closed, one reader pointed out that this "masks true demand"

Points up front: the best way to source direct lending loans is to sit and wait
Spend a few minutes in the company of a direct lending manager and you’re sure to hear about the lengths to which funds go in order to source deals (one firm said that it operates a call centre in order to contact borrowers). Not so Pascal Meysson, managing director at Alcentra.

Cheyne generates double-digit returns for hedge funds
Cheyne Capital has delivered with two credit hedge funds that have reached their maturity

Synthetic CDOs seek to follow CLOs
Growing issuance, interest in longer maturities and the emergence of a secondary market are encouraging dealers to believe that bespokes are on the road to acceptance. By Sayed Kadiri