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

Points up front: Navigating lockdown easel-y with brush in hand
The various periods of lockdown over the past 12 months have provided time for credit professionals to tap into their creative side, and Schroders’ head of securitised credit Michelle Russell-Dowe has taken full advantage

Points up front: Brahms for the brain
We often use this column to highlight charitable initiatives undertaken by members of the CLO community, but charity starts at home and we’d like to point you towards an initiative conducted by Richard Burrell, partner of our own Tanvi Gupta

"Watch the IG credit curve — we may see steepening of IG 5s10s and flattening of 10s30s"
Stimulus measures are supporting short tenors, and pension demand for 30-year paper is strong, so 10-year IG credit may have few buyers

"We have to think about the influence of social media like Reddit"
Schroders' Michelle Russell-Dowe takes our credit quiz

A brighter year ahead
Panellists on Creditflux’s CLO webinar described how CLO spreads are close to historic tights, ESG is entering the docs and managers have more flexibility with work-outs than ever before

CLO guys shouldn't feel quite as self-important as us Welsh... But you are in a pretty amazing spot
CLO portfolio managers should be emboldened by recent events to push for ESG strategies 

Past returns: Highland sells European CLOs at second attempt
In Creditflux 10 years ago, we reported that Highland Capital Management was offloading its European CLOs, with Alcentra and Barings among the frontrunner

I'm a nosy neighbour... get CSO deals public and embrace the age of information
A year of staying under the radar has not helped the CSO market

All types of financing will have to incorporate ESG risks and use their real economy influence
Fund managers can no longer ignore, postpone or hide from measures to tackle climate change

Virus-impacted sectors may suffer greater distress in Europe than in the US
Investors may take different paths to capture positive convexity in US and European credit markets in 2021

Speculative protection buying censures managements that seek only to enhance their own wealth
The Catholic church misses the mark when referring to CDS as ‘finance of chance’

Cessation of activity mid-December is an opportunity to switch off… and let the mind wander
Welshcake is grateful for a lull in credit markets. The downtime has inspired him to dream up a CLO play

I foresee various spooky spectacles hitting our screens - and your long portfolios
Welshcake is settling in for a horror movie marathon. But in the previews he sees monsters lurking behind tight credit spreads

CLO collateral managers who are able to update their documents could gain warf advantage
Moody’s is reviewing its approach to warf. Changes could boost managers’ ability to trade

Questions will need answering about where a manager's fiduciary responsibility lies
A university lecturer gives Welshcake a shock with a CLO presentation that points to shady trading games

Past returns: Bravo! Citi takes applause with CSO portfolios
Five years ago in Creditflux we reported that Citi was planning a follow up to its Bravo portfolio — a CSO reference entity in which the bank made two-way markets

They said it: "Clearing houses have proposed they will clear index tranches next year"
More liquidity for the index tranche market

Gaining exposure to US IG credit through the index means giving up about 10% of potential value
A bespoke portfolio of IG credits can take advantage of the skew between indices and single names

They should have followed Revlon's Double Twist mascara slogan of 2009: "It's worth a double take"
Blockchain might not eradicate all problems in credit, but it should reduce human error

The length of a CLO’s reinvestment period has no substantive effect on its resilience to defaults
Three-year reinvestment CLOs are the norm, but debt investors should be locking in historically wide spreads for longer

They said it: "We’re going to change the world of finance"
Big ambitions in blockchain

Points up front: From drafting CLO docs to writing crime thrillers
Nicola Bashforth, a popular figure in the CLO business, announced last month that she had left the industry to return to Lancashire in England and try her hand at writing novels

Points up front: How much do I owe you?
Payment systems in the credit industry had a bad August