Fund performance: A third of funds reach positive territory in 2020
August has been another successful month for the CLO category as seven of the top 10 funds invest primarily in CLOs

US investors piled into structured credit and private lending in 2019, Gapstow finds
US institutional investors' allocations to 'alternative credit' increased 12% year-over-year in 2019, according to research by fund of funds manager Gapstow Capital Partners

Alcentra appoints DeSimone as CEO
Alcentra has appointed Johnathan DeSimone as chief executive officer following David Forbes-Nixon’s decision to step down and take an investment role at the firm

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

Credit fundraising: distressed keeps in favour but CLO ETFs emerge
Five months into global lockdown and distressed debt funds are still proving popular, but several managers have found success pitching other types of credit strategies

LP round up: Connecticut eyes Fortress for private credit partnership
Investors placed $3.3 billion across 26 credit mandates over the past fortnight, according to documents seen by Creditflux 

French and travel names lead sell off as UK widens quarantine list
European credit is pushing wider at the end of the week, following the UK's decision to remove France, the Netherlands and other countries from its list of those safe to travel to without quarantine

Nine bonds make list to settle Noble, positing 98-cent CDS pay out
Nine bonds are on an initial list of deliverable obligations to settle at auction CDS referencing Noble Corporation, the latest CDX HY index constituent to trigger a bankruptcy credit event

LP round up: Oregon eyes $1.8 billion into structured credit
Institutional investors have earmarked over $6 billion to credit funds over the past two weeks

Credit Rendezvous: record fiscal stimulus provides pick-me-up
Credit markets had a mini bounce-back in the second quarter as central banks poured cash into the economy. But there is great uncertainty about the effects of a second wave of coronavirus. As part of our quarterly report on credit - the Credit Rendezvous - Creditflux spoke to experts across 12 segments of the credit market

LP round up: managers keep fundraising hopes high as GSO targets $7.5 billion for mezz offering
Institutional investors allocated $1.6 billion into credit this week, according to documents seen by Creditflux

Chesapeake default takes CDS auctions to eight-year high
Chesapeake Energy has been confirmed as the latest CDX HY index constituent to require settlement at auction, after the Americas Determinations Committee ruled it has triggered a bankruptcy credit event

Chesapeake bankruptcy points to hit for CDS and loan holders
Chesapeake Energy looks set to become the latest in a string of defaults to hit US high yield index CDX HY, after the Oklahoma City headquartered shale producer filed for chapter 11 protection

California Resources auction set as CLOs hold loans and recoveries look low
The Americas Determinations Committee has set a date to resolve CDS referencing California Resources Corp, which has triggered a failure-to-pay credit event

Intelsat CDS set for deemed auction today at 100% recovery
Intelsat Investments CDS will be settled today at 100% recovery through a deemed auction, the Determinations Committee has said

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

Onex hires Jaber as it launches CLO investment business
Onex Credit Partners has hired Ronnie Jaber to start a CLO investment business in New Jersey, according to an announcement today

CLOs on lookout as Neiman recovery signals slump and DC confirms credit event
Five-year CDS referencing Neiman Marcus widened by four points to 95.25 points up front, according to IHS Markit, as the Americas Determinations Committee confirmed the US retailer has triggered a bankruptcy credit event

Ares raises $3 billion special situations fund ahead of huge European direct lending launch
Ares Management has witnessed “accelerated fundraising” for its special situations fund, which it has closed at around $3 billion, according to the firm’s earnings calls. The firm also launched its fifth European direct lending fund this week, which Ares expects could be “the largest private comingled fund in its history”

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

If history repeats itself, the best CLO play could be to hold equities
After a futile scramble for liquidity, LyondellBasel filed for bankruptcy in the early morning hours of 6 January 2009. Bad luck for CLO managers that were holding the loan? Not at all

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 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

McClatchy whacks out killer headline as CDS pays 98 cents
A month ago, when US newspaper company McClatchy triggered a bankruptcy credit event, sellers of CDS protection may have consoled themselves they were only looking at paying out around 27 cents on the contracts. But yesterday’s credit event auction set the final price at just two, meaning a whopping 98 cent windfall for protection buyers