Full steam ahead: Italian railway workers' pension fund seeks private debt exposure
Eurofer, the €1 billion Italian pension fund, for railway workers, is seeking debt managers, with a focus on infrastructure, real estate or unlisted real estate companies.

39% of private debt investors are underweight, but they're looking for opportunities
485 Investors have come together to reveal their thoughts about allocation, in a survey conducted by London-based investment consultant bfinance

Harbert European Growth Fund flourishes with €215 million final close
London-based Harbert Management Corporation has held a final close for its second European Growth Capital Fund with €215 million in capital commitments

Shetland Islands pension looks to terminate bonds and introduce direct lending
A UK pension fund is looking to terminate its bond mandate and introduce a 12.5% direct lending and 12.5% alternative funds asset allocation, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux

Credit drives strong returns for five of the largest asset managers in the business
Carlyle is close to hitting its ambitious fundraising target; direct lending has been kind to Ares; and Och-Ziff has decided to shed its US CLO risk retention stakes after exiting its financing agreements

Star names join Barclays as it pushes into CLOs

Italian pension fund seeks direct lending managers
Previndai, the €11bn pension fund for managers of industrial companies, has issued a notice seeking global and European direct lending managers

Oaktree raises new special situations fund while CIO warns of direct lending risk
Oaktree Capital Management has released its second quarter 2018 results in which the Los Angeles-based firm reported $2.4 billion of new capital commitments in the quarter

Ares launches "largest ever" European direct lending fund with up to €10 billion to invest
Ares Management has held the final close on what it claims to be the largest European direct lending fund raise ever

Investors eye alternative credit ahead of expected interest rate increase – report
Investments in alternative credit are set to rise among institutional investors over the next 12 months, according to an alternative credit report published by NN Investments Partners

Capital Dynamics registers debut direct lending fund
Zug-based Capital Dynamics is looking to launch Capital Dynamics US Middle Market Credit Fund after establishing a private credit business over the last 12 months

European institutional private debt appetite shows no signs of waning, finds Aviva survey
Institutional investors across Europe are set to increase their exposure to alternative income assets, according to a report by Aviva Investors.

IW launches first UK SME senior debt fund
London-headquartered IW Capital has launched its first  £4.5 million senior secured debt fund, which will invest in UK SMEs 

Patrimonium set to launch two European direct lending funds
Direct lender Patrimonium Asset Management is launching two new direct lending funds – with both funds anticipated to hold first closes at around €150 million in the coming week, according to market sources

Ares emerges as favourite to take over troubled direct lending fund
Following Oaktree’s wind-down request, the board of the Ranger Direct Lending Fund has chosen Ares as replacement manager - moves which could see the fund change its focus from peer-to-peer loan investments to asset-backed loans

Direct lenders pile into "turbocharged" market as fundraising skyrockets: report
Growth in the direct lending market in the 12 months to 31 December was “turbocharged,” growing robustly in the fourth quarter 2017 in particular due to a consistently growing Eurozone economy, according to Deloitte

Pennsylvania pension fund to commit €150 million to direct lending
The Public School Employees’ Retirement Board has recommended a €150 million investment in Intermediate Capital Group's ICG Europe VII fund

Which flavour do you favour?
We asked four direct lenders for their opinions on four fictional European borrowers operating in software, food, consumer loans and retail – and found they had similar tastes.

Owl Rock BDC assets swell by $1.26 billion in 12 months
Owl Rock’s first business development company has increased its total assets by $1.26 billion and its net assets by $790 million in over just one year, filings indicate

Minnesota pension fund looks to commit $535 million to 'private credit'
Minnesota State Board of Investments has recommended investments worth $535 million to private credit, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux

European direct lender seeks €2.5 billion for new Luxembourg-based debt fund
London-based direct lender Pemberton is launching a new debt fund that will invest in mid-market European companies, Creditflux has learned

Patrimonium's Heine reveals what it takes to be a direct lender in Germany
Europe’s middle market lending community this week heard just how gruelling a job it is to source deals in Germany. Heine answered a number of important questions such as, "how many beers does it take for a sourcing manager to make it through one year?"

Aberdeen Standard Investments launches global private markets fund
Aberdeen Standard Investments has launched a £138 million Global Private Markets Fund (GPMF), which will invest in a diversified mix of private credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure

Alcentra launches third direct lending fund
A year on from closing its second direct lending fund, Alcentra is understood to be marketing fund three in its direct lending series

European direct lending up 34% in recent quarter: Deloitte report
Direct lending in Europe continues to boom, according to the latest Deloitte deal tracker, which found a 34% growth of direct lending deals in third quarter 2017 alone compared to third quarter 2016