It's a question of timing: US direct lending allocations hit a bump in the road
Recent disclosures from public pension funds point to a pull-back in private credit allocations

Los Angeles pension fund to shortlist illiquid credit managers
Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) is set to select semi-finalists for an $500 million illiquid credit mandate by July  

San Mateo pension backs BlackRock direct lending fund
San Mateo County Employees' Retirement Association is set to make a commitment of $35 million to BlackRock Direct Lending Fund IX, according to an agenda item document seen by Creditflux.

New investments drive Canada Pension Plan’s credit returns to 8.7%
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)’s credit portfolio has delivered good returns during the 2019 fiscal year, despite the market volatility, according to the institution’s annual financial report  

Northleaf adds newly-created business development role in London
The new hire will lead the Toronto-based firm's business development and investor relations activities across Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Continuous par build can provide a rainy-day fund for when downgrades to triple Cs pour in
If CLO managers are preparing for mass downgrades to triple C loans, then trading gains and thick OC cushions are the best defences

California pension approves $20 million for open-ended private debt fund
The commitment comes two months after Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System mandated $25 million to a THL Credit 

Maryland pension carves out private debt bucket
The Baltimore pension fund has also mandated a total of $25 million to one direct lending fund and one distressed debt fund 

Crescent targets $1 billion for US unitranche fund
Crescent Capital has held a first close for its Crescent Private Credit Partners Unitranche Fund

Northleaf raises over $500 million for open-ended private credit fund
Structured as an evergreen fund, Northleaf states that the strategy will “enhance liquidity options compared to traditional private credit fund structures”

Texas pension fund looks to top up credit portfolio
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) has decided to increase by 3% its target allocation to strategic credit  

Northleaf appoints private credit officials in Chicago, London and Toronto
Northleaf Capital Partners has expanded its private credit team with three hires - including an ex-Barclays head of international corporate credit

Direct lending challenges in 2019: competition, lack of quality assets and high transaction multiples
Results from Proskauer Rose's survey show these are not putting off 75% of respondents, who are fundraising for a debt fund

Californian pension reveals 2019 private credit plan
Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association is considering committing up to $80 million to private credit funds, following a recommendation of its investment consultant NEPC  

Owl Rock opens Silicon Valley office focused on technology origination
The $12 billion direct lender anticipates the office will better serve financial sponsors operating in the technology sector

Marathon proposes alternative to long-running Medley BDC merger dispute
Marathon has joined the race to take on two business development companies managed by Medley

"It makes no sense in a one-to-one world": Goldman BDC dissolves JV with pension fund
Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD) has dissolved its joint venture partnership with Regents of the University of California as the Senior Credit Fund “no longer makes sense in a one-to-one world”, according to the business development company's Q4 2018 earnings call.

Capitala BDC forms $150 million mid-market JV with Kempner
Capitala Finance Corporation and Kemper subsidiary Trinity Universal Insurance Company have teamed up to launch another direct lending joint venture, following a loan-focused JV in 2015

Ares grows credit 34% with direct lending boost, but high yield takes rough ride in Q4
Ares Management Corporation reported strong returns for its European direct lending strategies in the fourth quarter of 2018. But the firm's overall revenues slumped and its US loan funds and high yield strategies were hit by the volatile credit market 

Mid market CLO round-up: eyes (wide) open as mid-market CLOs re-awaken
AB returned to the middle market CLO space this week after a year out to price ABPCI V. It is the second middle market CLO of the year after Fortress Investment Group refinanced Fortress Credit Opportunities VII. 

San Francisco pension deploys $125 million into private credit
San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System has bolstered its private debt bucket, making a $125 million commitment to a senior debt fund and opportunistic credit fund that builds on other private debt investments since last year

HPS targets $8 billion for flagship mezzanine strategy
HPS Mezzanine Partners 2019, the firm's fourth fund in its mezzanine strategy, has won $100 million from a Louisiana pension fund 

Private credit managers are partially insulated from daily market moves — for them it’s the dough, not the Dow
If asked about credit investing, Yogi Berra might have said take the fork in the road leading to private credit, says our columnist Randy Schwimmer

Carlyle performance dips in Q4, but credit teams ride global volatility
Credit fund performance dipped for the Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter, as market volatility and fund outflows put a dent in the industry’s much stronger performance of the previous three quarters

Oaktree reports distressed gains over year despite Q4 losses
Oaktree was not immune from challenging fourth quarter globally. Its distressed debt strategy, for instance, returned a gross loss of 1.5%