Fund performance
Q4 has kicked off with structured finance funds leading the way in the Creditflux league tables, as the category index reached 0.61%, and all but one fund made positive returns.

Loan Highlights 3Q23: Loan volumes remain significantly lower than historical averages
Capital markets loan activity continued to struggle in the third quarter of 2023, as issuers in the Americas and Europe held off from tapping markets

Loan Highlights 2Q23: Running aground
The global loan market endured a bleak first half of the year, with the overall 1H23 volume falling 28% year-on-year (YoY) to $1.9 trillion, the lowest showing since 2012.

LP round up: HPS wins $550m mandate as Ares launches third US direct lending fund
US institutional investors allocated nearly $3 billion to credit funds in April. The news comes amid a BlackRock survey in the month which showed significant investor interest in private credit

Virginia pension discloses $800 million in credit allocations
Virginia Retirement System has disclosed $800 million in credit fund allocations made over the first quarter of this year

Fund performance: European CLO funds lead the way
February was a positive month for many funds, as only one quarter failed to reach the black. This builds off a stellar start to the year: 96% of funds reached a positive return in January

HPS raises $12 billion for fifth junior capital fund
HPS Investment Partners has closed its fifth junior capital solutions fund, HPS Strategic Investment Partners V, at $12 billion. With leverage, the strategy has $17 billion investable capital

Ares and Mubadala establish $1 billion global credit secondaries JV
The pair aim to capitalise on the 'anticipated growth and substantial demand’ from managers and investors for customised liquidity solutions

Fund performance: Credit funds end difficult 2022 on a positive note
In December 66% of credit funds reached a positive return, following an even better November where 81% of all funds pushed into the black

Largarde snowballs puncture complacent calm and shocks spreads wider
Credit markets are ending the week on a big push wider, after European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde delivered the surprise that had been missing from other central bank messaging

LP round up: 27 managers find the top corner with investor wins
Credit fund managers like to take it one fund at a time and give it 110% for their 90-minute investor fund pitches - and it's working as $3.8 billion was allocated during November and early December. The gaffer would be proud. 

Powell outlook brings risk buyers out in droves, but reality check looks soon to follow
Comments by US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday on the pace of future rate hikes have prompted a sharp rally across global financial markets, including credit. But dissenting voices have already begun to point out the enthusiasm is likely overdone

Swiss bank looks to plug holes but investors are hun-gruyere for risk
Credit Suisse is a rare, worrisome cloud in an otherwise brightening sky this week, as Europe extends its tightening trend in credit with the US standing at ease for the Thanksgiving holiday

UK nerves rattle Europe/US relative value trades, as Hunt seeks to reassure investors
A palpable mood of trepidation on Thursday around the UK’s autumn budget has brought widening of credit spreads, with European indices giving back gains they have made in recent sessions versus their US counterparts

US lags as midterms, dollar and global slowdown weigh against broader rally
European and Asia outperformance over the US is extending at pace at the start of the week, with a strong improvement in spreads coming ahead of the New York market open

Soft mood music abruptly dashed as Fed and BoE rile markets
The credit market’s strong run of improvement has come to an end this week, with the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England delivering a reality check to hopes of a more dovish path forward on interest rates

Cairn begins "new chapter" as it rebrands to Polus
Cairn Capital has been renamed Polus Capital Management, which brings it together with Bybrook Capital, the credit asset manager it acquired in 2021.  

Fund performance: Wake us up when September ends
After a resurgent August, credit markets hit a rough patch in September, with every Creditflux index posting negative returns, and only 12.9% of funds in our listings showing a positive return.

US and Europe divide honours between HY and IG as market rally extends
A second straight day of improvement is adding to this week’s gathering rally, but while US high yield is outperforming European the reverse is true in investment grade

Credit Suisse and UK names lead charge as European IG outperforms
European investment grade credit is rallying strongly at the start of this week, in contrast to a sluggish start by its US counterpart market, with Credit Suisse and UK companies among the outperformers

UK adds itself to sour global cocktail with investors given another shake
US investors are returning to a sour mood across global markets on Tuesday, with escalating warfare in Ukraine, Chinese covid cases at a two-month high, the Biden administration in a standoff with China over microchips, and the UK still managing to hold focus for economic mishap

Fund performance: August provides much-needed relief for CLO funds
.August fund performance 

51% of investors plan to increase loan allocation in next 12 months: State Street survey
State Street surveyed 700 global institutional investors  on how they view the fixed income market and how they are allocating amid ongoing market volatility.

Credit Suisse blow out puts financials in spotlight
Credit spreads have pushed wider on Monday, with underperformance in investment grade, as sharp oil price moves accompanied intensified focus on the banking sector amid a slew of worrying commentary on Credit Suisse

"Ugly" eurozone inflation numbers cap off torrid week for credit
Credit spreads are heading tighter into the weekend, as investors rebalance positions against a backdrop of easing currency pressures but a challenging array of European inflation numbers and a highly charged Brazilian election month about to kick off