News in brief
US credit returns fail to reflect risk

Credit funds at a glance - January 2025
Fund performance, recent hires, recent fundraising

Oak Hill Advisors increases target cap to a billion dollars for new CLO equity fund
New York-based Oak Hill Advisors has raised USD 459m so far for its new CLO equity fund and increased the cap by USD 200m

CLO fundraising round-up - November 2024
CLO funds have had a stand-out year, and both fundraising and fund returns have soared, with managers out in the market with both third-party and captive CLO funds

Pearl Diver raises USD 100m for first investment grade CLO fund
CLO equity specialist Pearl Diver has expanded up the stack with the launch of its first investment grade CLO fund 

BlackRock launches securitised asset fund
BlackRock has launched a new securitised asset fund dubbed the BlackRock Senior Securitised Fund with at least 65% exposure to ABS and no more than 35% to CLOs

Sound Point becomes 5th largest CLO manager as Assured deal completes
Sound Point announced the completion of its partnership with Assured Guaranty yesterday jumping Sound Point into position as 5th largest CLO manager in the world.

Blackstone rethinks captive equity strategy
Blackstone has announced proposals to wind down its existing risk retention vehicle, Blackstone Loan Financing Limited (BGLF).

Managers scramble to launch captive equity funds as they become best route to market
A plethora of CLO managers are eyeing captive equity fund launches in 2023 with the lack of such vehicles cited as the “main hurdle” for issuing deals.

Citi forms new securitised trading business
Citi has formed a new securitised products trading business, with sources saying the combined business is better aligned with how the bank’s clients are organised

Belstar partners with Apollo to launch global corporate and structured credit fund
Belstar Management Company has launched a credit fund to invest across global liquid and private credit - including both corporate and structured credit

Euro CLOs have better 2023 entry point than US in $140 billion issuance year: Barclays
CLO performance and issuance may have to wait until the second half of next year for improvement, say Barclays credit strategists in a 2023 outlook piece. But Europe could fare better than the US given starting levels in a year the market faces some challenging regulatory hurdles

Schroders hires COO for securitised products and CLO investments team
Schroders Capital has made a senior hire from Lloyds Bank to the newly-created role of chief operating officer of its global securitised credit team

PE firm Nile buys minority stake in Prytania AM
Nile Capital Group has bought a minority stake in a structured credit specialist 

Sofr away from me – basis puts new CLO triple As in dire straits
A relative value gap has opened between secondary and primary market CLO triple A tranches, with the former looking attractive as volatility heightens and the basis grows between Libor and Sofr. This presents an additional problem for managers hoping to do new business

Apollo reaches for bigger slice of pi(e) with 5% Diameter stake
Apollo Global Management has bought a 5% stake in credit fund and CLO manager Diameter Capital Partners, cementing the relationship between the firms

Widening asset/liability gulf will hurt CLOs: Barclays
A mismatch between CLO asset / liability rate risk is increasing in the US as more leveraged loan issuers opt for one-month pay frequency, Barclays credit strategists have found

Short duration CLOs are putting reset risk in the post: Barclays
The CLO market’s recent trend of shorter duration issuance could be setting up a problem for managers down the line that will impact their equity returns, Barclays has warned

Euro double As and US triple As offer best value in CLOs: BNP Paribas
Secondary market double A rated tranches offer the best relative value in European CLOs’ capital structures, while US triple As in primary starting to look attractive, according to BNP Paribas credit strategists

CLO spreads are not pricing in recession: JP Morgan
CLOs are priced fairly for a growth slowdown but not a recession, according to JP Morgan credit strategists, who warn spreads are at risk if US growth contracts

CLO official takes top role as Onex announces new credit leadership
Onex Credit Partners has announced a new leadership structure with two co-heads of credit replacing the CEO that left late last year. One of the promotions is an experienced CLO official 

Manager selection stakes are heightening as CLO pain points intensify: Barclays
CLOs’ slump in market value and piling of distressed assets have made differentiation between managers much more acute on key metrics, regionally and by vintage, according to Barclays credit strategists

CLO managers added to their pool of analysts last year: Fitch
CLO asset managers staffed up last year as primary issuance volume soared, with Fitch Ratings finding the average analyst team size increased from 16 to 17

CLO top stack offers best value versus corp debt after junior tranche rally: Barclays
Having lagged in the recent market recovery, CLO triple A paper looks attractive versus corporate investment grade and the CDX IG credit derivatives index