Ucits at a glance: Five funds lift YTD returns above 5%
Five funds have managed to pull their year to date figures above 5%; Loomis Sayles (7.50%), Algebris (5.82%), Pictet (5.53%), Amundi (5.36%) and Advent (5.11%)

Fund performance: Almost a third of credit funds reach positive YTD returns
July has been a successful month for many credit funds, despite the recovery peaking in May and June

Apollo joins forces with Mubadala for big direct lending deals
Apollo Global Management has launched a ‘large scale direct lending’ platform, which it says is anchored by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company

Värde targets $1 billion for inaugural dedicated credit dislocation fund
Värde is seeking to raise $1 billion for its dislocation and distressed debt fund, according to an investor presentation seen by Creditflux. The firm is targeting a first close this month

Fund performance: CLO tranches move up
April returns managed a partial bounce back after a tumultuous March. 82% of funds listed in the Creditflux database made positive returns, showing at least small signs of recovery after 90% of all funds listed posted negative returns in March

Florida pension allocates $600 million to three credit managers
Florida State Board of Administration has awarded $600 million to three credit managers in the first quarter, according to a board update seen by Creditflux

Credit Rendezvous: recovery begins, but is it U, V or even W?
Investing in credit is not as easy as ABC. The coronavirus crisis has crushed valuations and although most assets will eventually pull to par, no one is sure how the recovery will pan out

US credit leads surge tighter on Fed package to close gap with Europe
What was already a much more positive week for credit has ended with a massive jump-start, as the US Federal Reserve unveiled a $2.3 trillion relief package targeting small businesses and municipalities but with additional support for bigger companies, including 'fallen angel' household names

CDX HY and EM trade with fresh legs after defaulted names drop out
New series of US high yield index CDX HY and emerging market index CDX EM begin their first full day of trading today, having replaced outgoing versions on Friday amid a weakening of credit markets due to the spreading impact of the coronavirus outbreak

Credit markets rally, but hopes rest on US stimulus vote
Credit spreads are rallying back today, along with other financial markets, as hopes rise the US congress will agree a massive fiscal stimulus package and other governments in major economies echo a "whatever it takes" line to combat the coronavirus outbreak

Credit traders' kickstand: rolling with the pain, as relative value trades come unstuck
What a difference a month - and a pandemic - make. This time in February, no-one could have imagined a global financial crisis would be unfolding, that credit performance would be a battle between a virus and some of the biggest government and central bank interventions on record, that today's iTraxx Europe and CDX index rolls would traverse unprecedented ranges, that option expiry strikes would be blown beyond recognition, or that cash and CDS differentials would be whipsawing with such violence

Credit traders' kickstand: this is not a drill
Freefall in financial markets has brought one of the credit market’s most volatile sessions on record, as coronavirus cases globally near 100,000 and the WHO has warned governments are not doing nearly enough. iTraxx Crossover one-day volatility is up with the 2008 global financial crisis and 2011 European sovereign crisis

CDS takes brunt of coronavirus panic sell-off
European credit derivatives are among the hardest hit assets today amid a broad sell-off, as the fast spread of the coronavirus into Italy, Korea and Iran has brought a reappraisal of the impact it could have on financial markets

European financials outperform corporates as coronavirus spreads
Financial CDS is outperforming corporate credit today, and Europe outperforming the US, as the market jumps wider on rising alarm at the spread of China’s novel coronavirus

Portfolio managers wary of US default rates, IACPM survey reveals
Portfolio managers are more pessimistic about North American corporate defaults in the next 12 months than other global regions, according to the latest survey by the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers

Four days left to join narrowly tailored credit event protocol
Those market participants yet to sign up to the International Swaps & Derivatives Association’s protocol on narrowly tailored credit events have until Friday to do so

Portfolio Advisors hits first close as it targets $1.5 billion for secondaries fund
Private markets specialist Portfolio Advisors has completed a first close on its latest secondaries fund at the end of December 2019, having raised between $600m to $700m, a source told Creditflux  

UK pension partnership launches maiden private credit offering at £581 million
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (BCPP) is set to commit £581 million in private credit, as part of its maiden offering in this asset class  

Arizona pension to deploy up to $700 million a year in private credit
Arizona Public Safety Employee System is looking to deploy $600-700 million in private credit strategies per year in order to meet its target allocation, according to board documents seen by Creditflux.

Reality bites after credit traders abandon Brexit hedges
Rediscovered faith in the ability of the UK and European Union to reach an agreement before the 31 October Brexit deadline has helped fuel a surge tighter of credit spreads, led by UK financial names. But that break with caution faces an immediate reality check today, following admissions a lot more work is needed

iTraxx and CDX roll provisional lists reveal effects of index overhauls
Eagerly awaited provisional lists are out for this month’s index CDS rolls, with big changes signalled across iTraxx and CDX products

US credit managers make ESG breakthrough after taking a first step via UNPRI
Incorporating a framework for investing in companies based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is a challenge that US credit managers are accepting in growing numbers

UK pension pool to launch maiden private credit offering
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership is launching its first private credit offering in early Q4, Creditflux has learned

Private debt boosts Partners' AUM
Partners Group has reached €17.2 billion in private debt assets for the first half of 2019, with private debt experiencing the highest net growth among all private markets, according to an AUM update from the manager today  

US pension backs Hong Kong-based credit fund manager
The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System has approved a commitment of $200 million to Arkkan Opportunities Feeder Fund II