Fund performance: Déjà vu as April leaders dominate
CLO funds stayed in the top flight for another month as they took over the top 10 credit hedge fund return table in May, when 87% of all funds listed made positive returns

Credit hedge funds (July 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

"Pain is on the way: spreads are too tight, while compression and carry are done. But what if it's not?"
Welshcake reminds us that mid-cycle portfolio management is a funny old game  

It's all relative: CDX HY touches record tights but junior US CLO tranches leak wider
Credit spreads are marching tighter, but someone forgot to tell the CLO market. European and US CDS spreads have moved in step with each other for the most part with investment grade and high yield tightening 4-6% in the last week, whereas CLOs have been losing ground

CLO demand to drive loan outperformance over bonds: BNP Paribas
The buying power of CLOs and funds could mean leveraged loans rally further and outpace high yield bonds, says BNP Paribas' credit research team

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

"Technology won’t replace human judgement. In ESG a qualitative review is necessary"
The social aspect of ESG must be given sufficient weight in investment decisions  

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

Meag hires experienced credit specialist for top fixed income job
€328 billion asset manager Meag has appointed a head of active fixed income in Munich to oversee a range of assets including credit

CLOs' favourite telco jumps tighter following strong results
French telco Altice is in focus on Friday as credit puts thoughts of a broader directional trade on hold

CLO PM set to leave PGIM ahead of move to London-based manager
A London-based mid-sized CLO manager has hired an official from PGIM 

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

BofA and State Street divided over CLO convertibles
A split has emerged in the approach between the two big buyers of triple A-rated CLO tranches that are structured as loans

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

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

Credit Rendezvous: ready and waiting
In Creditflux's quarterly review of credit, portfolio managers tell us that Inflation is likely to nudge higher but they are optimistic because dispersion will pick up and windows of volatility will emerge, rather than elongated phases of stress 

CLO managers eye bonds as short-dated loan universe shrinks
European CLO managers that focus on bonds say they had flexibility in the first quarter as the new issue loan pipeline ramped up

Credit hedge funds (April 2021)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Sandalwood funds of credit funds outperform in February
Credit funds of funds came out on top in February, a month characterised by the sell off in US treasuries

We say it: Creditflux salutes women in credit
The credit industry is blessed with many strong women and for this issue of Creditflux we’re exclusively hearing their voices across our news, analysis and columns

LP round-up: $2.6 billion flows into 26 credit managers
A stuck ship in the Suez Canal may have prevented others from getting through one of the world's busiest waterways in March, but allocations to credit funds were much more free flowing as investors poured over $2.6 billion into the hands of credit managers

CIFC multi-asset strategy launch underlines diversification beyond CLOs
CIFC Asset Management has launched a multi-strategy credit strategy, underlining its development from a CLO issuance business to a broader credit asset manager