Past returns: Death by triple Cs? A step too far
15 months ago in Creditflux we reported that corporate credit downgrades, rather than defaults, were the biggest problem facing CLO portfolio managers

Points up front: Blame it on capitalism
You know it’s a tough month for returns when a hedge fund manager quotes Lenin and laments that capitalism and globalisation have failed to distribute wealth efficiently

Miscast as the villains of the 2008 crisis, CDS may prove to be the heroes of 2020
Credit default swaps provide investors with valuable signals on the depth of the coronavirus crisis

Investors need to ask: can my asset manager survive the crisis?

The opportunities to build par and spread within a CLO haven’t been this plentiful since 2009
Last year’s CLOs could become the benchmark for manager performance

Distressed exchanges offer pathways to recapture value that others are trying to take from CLOs
Volcker rule amendments could protect CLOs from losing out to distressed funds in a restructuring

Past returns: the genesis of managed CSOs
Five years ago, we reported that managed CSOs were being discussed for the first time since the financial crisis.

Points up front: Betting on ESG CLOs
Investing ethically is becoming a big part of credit, with CLO managers among the first to adopt environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment guidelines. So it’s no surprise that ESG criteria were high on the list of talking points at the Structured Finance Association’s SFVegas gathering last month.

Points up front: Credit picking follows on from investor picking
Credit picking skills will be important this year amid heightened idiosyncratic risk, so everyone seems to say. But Ares Management, one of the biggest names in direct lending, has demonstrated that asset managers can also be picky with the mandates they take on, when the firm walked away from a private debt mandate with London CIV in January.

2020 will be about relative value, watching for idiosyncratic risk and a good deal of running away
Investors must embrace change — it’s time for structured credit investors to look beyond vanilla CLOs

You need a balanced portfolio that’s ready for calculated risk taking — so consider a barbell approach
Investors can’t afford to be too conservative as they prepare for the end of the cycle

Don’t get too comfortable. The truth is there are hundreds of things that could be catalysts for a sell-off
Just because there’s no obvious sign of a sell-off, doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. Often, market moves defy logic

‘Buying the dip’ is going to be a poor investment strategy when the next downturn comes
The next credit downturn will be shallower but more prolonged than the last, so what works will be different, too

Not all old tier one CLO managers lived up to their premier billing

Farewell Mike
After two decades, Mike Peterson, the founder and long-time editor of Creditflux, is moving on.

Points up front: There are lies, damn lies and awards pitches
We’re hearing empty boasts, trash talking of their rivals and no shortage of promises that will absolutely be delivered.

Analysts have interpreted the IG credit risk premium in various ways — but the point is to harvest it
Selling CDS protection could be the most effective way of capturing excess premiums in investment grade credit

They said it: "Risky unmarked things are not not-risky. It will end in tears"

Past returns: Bond king’s exit ends CLO refis
Five years ago in Creditflux, we reported on a market absorbing the consequences of ‘bond king’ Bill Gross leaving Pimco, the firm he co-founded.

It may seem a bit rich for Welshcake to tell staid CLO investors they need to be more sensible
Bespokes are the next big thing — and you’d be wise to get involved

If you can stomach volatility, CLO equity is very attractive

Helicopter money is more productive than sponsoring the next bout of company share buybacks
The ECB is set to recommence its asset purchase programme, but what’s wrong with putting money directly into the hands of people?

Past returns: Unfinished business in CLOs
Five years ago in Creditflux we reported that DA Capital was looking for a way back into CLO management. The firm had sold its four US CLOs in 2011 to Citi Alternative Investments (now known as Napier Park Global Capital), but a rally had convinced the firm it was time to issue CLOs again. 

Points up front: Loan deal with 23 takes Griezmann to Barcelona
Soccer financing firm 23 Capital has been adding credit experts to its team and now has a CLO specialist captaining its capital markets effort, with former Guggenheim Securities co-head of ABS/CLO syndication Sreesha Vaman joining last month. The squad already features credit portfolio managers Sam Filer (ex-BMS Finance), David O’Connor (Mizuho) and Ardeshir Sorabjee (Deutsche Bank).