New manager Resco lands ex-credit head to found advisory board
Resco Asset Management, a London based asset manager set up last year, has appointed the first of an anticipated three advisory board members

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  

Brookfield strikes deal to buy 62% stake in Oaktree
Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to buy a 62% stake in Oaktree Capital Management in a move which will lead to the creation of one of the largest asset managers in the business.

Unlevered direct lending funds bring in first-time investors
Unlevered direct lending funds are particularly appealing to first-time investors and one of the biggest managers in the business has taken note of this

Isda tables plans to rid CDS market of narrowly tailored credit events
After lengthy deliberation, a working group of major firms is today set to publish proposals aimed at ridding the market of ‘narrowly tailored credit events’, whereby borrowers are persuaded to default on debt payments in order to trigger pay-outs for CDS holders

Private credit delivers strong returns for Finnish pension
Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER) has generated 12.4% from its private credit funds for 2018, according to its latest annual report  

Illiquid credit boost returns for PensionDanmark
PensionDanmark has generated 5.8% returns from its illiquid credit portfolio for the year 2018, according to its latest annual report published today. But its liquid credit portfolio took a 3.4% hit

Axiom launches credit derivatives fund under recent hire Henrio
Creditflux reported in October that the French asset manager was looking to launch the new credit derivatives strategy

Universal-Investment names CEO in management team shake-up
Universal-Investment, the €411bn asset manager, has appointed a new chief executive officer who will begin in that job from May  

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 

Italian journo pension scheme presses ahead with plan to invest in private debt
The National Institute for Italian Journalists' Social Security (INPGI) has launched a tender notice seeking closed-ended private debt funds to invest in, or unlisted debt instruments including infrastructure debt, private corporate debt and real estate debt  

Tikehau garners €2.1 billion for European direct lending strategy
Tikehau Investment Management has collected €2.1 billion for its fourth private debt strategy - three times larger than its predecessor fund 

BlueBay closes fourth direct lending fund at €6 billion
BlueBay Asset Management has held a final close for its fourth private debt fund with over €6 billion of investable capital

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 

Isda seeks fallback spread vendor for derivatives
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association is seeking an independent service provider to calculate and publish adjustments to fallbacks it will use in interest rate benchmarks for its Isda definitions

Esma requests derivatives clearing reprieve for smaller counterparties as deadline looms
With time running out for market participants to comply with a 21 June deadline to start centrally clearing over-the-counter credit and interest rate derivatives, the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) has pleaded with national regulators to overlook the failure of smaller counterparties who may subsequently be absolved from the requirement in any case since thresholds are not yet finalised

AnaCap buys €4 billion Italian SME loan portfolio
AnaCap Financial Partners has made its first transaction of its fourth credit opportunities fund 

Cairn Capital hires portfolio manager for CLO investments
Cairn Capital has hired a portfolio manager with sell-side and ratings agency experience to be responsible for CLO tranche investments

Talde launches €100 million debt fund
Talde Private Equity, a Spanish general partner company, has launched Talde Deuda Alternativa, a debt fund with a €100 million target aimed at financing European small and medium sized enterprises

Dealers gear up to settle Sears CDS and rule on Ziggo successor
The long wait to settle the final price of Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit default swaps will end today with a credit event auction, while investors could also learn whether there is successor to contracts referencing deregistered Ziggo Bond Finance

Credit spread improvement is calm before the storm, warn strategists
European and US credit markets have begun 2019 with a more buoyant tone than they ended 2018, but strategists warn that bearish factors still outweigh and suggest the overall direction of spreads this year is likely to be wider

Oaktree makes push into CLO investing with new European fund
Oaktree Capital Management is putting together a new European fund to invest in CLOs

BlueBay targets €5 billion for European direct lending strategy
BlueBay Asset Management is targeting €5 billion for its latest European direct lending strategy, according to documents seen by Creditflux, and has won $125 million in commitments from two US pension funds

Robeco looks to align macro fixed income with credit as it makes senior hire
Robeco has hired Jamie Stuttard as co-head of the global fixed income macro team and fixed income strategist