StepStone scores AAA rating for listed bond linked to US direct lending portfolio
StepStone Group has sponsored a $102.5 million securitisation of US direct lending loans that is listed on Mexico’s BIVA Stock Exchange in what it claims is the first transaction of its kind in Mexico

Spac pricing hints at Sound Point's growth ambitions in loan market
Sound Point Acquisition Corp has priced a $225 million IPO, signalling that credit asset manager Sound Point Capital Management is looking to expand its platform

LP round up: two CLO funds win support as Cali pensions home in on private credit
Two investors revealed allocations to European and US CLO funds, private credit allocations increases and private credit consultant searches get underway

KKR and PGIM among bidders to buy Alcentra: Bloomberg
BNY Mellon is set to offload its credit investment unit Alcentra, according to a report by Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter

Natixis IM to sell stake in Canadian asset manager Fiera
Natixis Investment Managers is selling all 10.68 million class A subordinate voting shares it holds in Canada's Fiera Capital

HPS reveals private credit-focused non-traded BDC
HPS Investment Partners has become the latest manager to launch a public, non-traded business development company

Former CIFC European CIO moves on from CLOs as he joins Man
Man Group has hired CIFC's former European chief investment officer alongside a Swiss Re official to launch a new capital assets solution unit

Blackstone secures $8.75 billion for lending fund
Blackstone Credit has collected $8.75 billion on the final close of its latest credit opportunities fund, Blackstone Capital Opportunities Fund IV, above its $7.5 billion target

US pensions assign $1.5 billion to 16 credit managers in December
US public pensions rounded off 2021 by gifting credit managers around $1.5 billion in commitments, according to documents seen by Creditflux

Tikehau raises nearly €2 billion for direct lending amid record-breaking quarterly fundraising
Tikehau Capital has collected nearly €2 billion for Tikehau Direct Lending V, plus a further €275 million for its secondary private debt strategy 

BC closes $1.2 billion second special opportunities fund 12 months’ incubation
BCP Special Opportunities Fund II has collected $1.2 billion in capital commitments - but a year later than it originally earmarked a final close

Credit Fundraising: mega funds contribute to record-breaking month as volume hits $39bn
The sheer size of the funds raised in November more than compensated for a drop in the number of funds raised as fundraising volume in credit reached $38.9 billion. This beat September by $2.4 billion to make it the most productive month of credit fundraising in 2021

Pemberton closes €1.75 billion strategic credit fund 40% deployed
Pemberton Asset Management has closed its second strategic credit fund, Pemberton Strategic Credit Fund II, at around €1.75 billion

Ironwood targets $500 million for mezz debt and equity fund
Ironwood Capital is targeting $500 million ($550 million hard cap) for its latest fund which will focus on subordinated debt and minority equity investments in lower middle market US companies

Supply chain crisis hits credit amid shift to physical products
Credit investors are bracing for choppy waters as the supply chain crisis makes itself felt on company balance sheets heading into the year end

Most investors still behind target with sustainability and impact investing, survey finds
72% of global investors plan to increase their allocation targets to sustainability and impact investing. That is according to a limited partner survey by private markets firm HarbourVest Partners HarbourVest’s 2021 ESG, Sustainability, and Impact Investing Survey of LPs

LP round up: no Stoptober as investors allocate $5 billion to credit
US institutional investors allocated $5 billion to credit funds in October, with Oak Hill and Pimco among the biggest mandates    

Eagle Point hits $300 million hard cap on BDC-lending fund
Eagle Point Credit Management says it has held a $300 million final close on its Defensive Income Fund, hitting its hard cap and exceeding its original $250 million target

Brookfield hires industry veteran as public securities CIO
Brookfield Asset Management has hired a long-serving credit and equity market professional as chief investment officer for its public securities group

Antares names CEO following Brackett's retirement
Antares Capital has named its new chief executive officer, following the retirement of CEO David Brackett effective 31 December

Investcorp strikes partnership with distressed mid-market specialist
Marblegate Asset Management and Investcorp say they have formed a strategic partnership where the latter will provide Marblegate with long-term capital to strengthen its investment platform and provide access to to Investcorp's investor network

US pensions make even more space for private debt
US public pensions are increasing allocations to private debt with sources indicating that the resilience of the asset class during the covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend

Intriva adds to asset management build up with senior hire
Intriva Capital, a mid-market lender and alternative investment firm, has hired a senior asset manager from HIG Capital

Credit Fundraising: Blue Owl and WhiteHorse gain from improving animal spirits
Fundraising perked up in July as managers raised $14.9 billion for credit funds - the third highest monthly amount this year

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