Credit fundraising: November marks turning point as fund launches spike
November was always set to be an important month as the world awaited the US election outcome and the results of covid-19 vaccine trials. This did nothing to slow down fund managers as 14 funds launched, up from only four funds launching in September and five in October

Compression plays out as HY and European CLO double Bs outperform
Investment grade and high yield credit spreads have tightened in sync with each other this week, but CDS and CLOs alike underline that the big theme over the past month has been compression between investment grade and high yield

LP round up: Monroe and Angelo Gordon beat 25 for direct lending mandate, as private credit plans brew
US public pension funds have disclosed $1.2 billion in commitments to credit focused strategies

Skybridge looks to cut structured credit and distressed debt exposure
SkyBridge Capital, the fund of hedge funds manager run by ex-White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, is set to curb the structured credit and distressed corporate debt exposure in its SkyBridge G II Fund

LP round up: $2.8 billion flows to credit as Apollo concedes fundraising may slow
Florida Retirement System Trust Fund made the largest commitments allocating $1.6 billion. Apollo meanwhile acknowledged a potential slowdown in fundraising as investors await results on an independent review into CEO Leon Black's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

Credit fundraising: Dubai manager gets in on the act as direct lending takes off
Shuaa launches credit fund in the Gulf as Ares, Contingency, HPS and Perceptive are among those to close billion-plus funds

Apollo appoints head of credit valuations from sell-side
Apollo has appointed a head of credit valuations, as its previous head of credit valuations has transitioned internally to cover private equity valuations

Ares holds €6.97 billion first close on European direct lending fund
Ares Management Group has collected $12 billion in gross credit commitments over the third quarter of the year, according to the firm’s earnings presentation, including $8.2 billion for the first closing of its fifth European direct lending fund

Alcentra hires Mulshine as head of US distribution
Alcentra has hired a new head of US distribution from Lazard

Credit Rendezvous: sometimes you have to dive deep to find value
Some parts of the credit market are fraught with danger, but that does not mean portfolio managers are avoiding them entirely, according to the Credit Rendezvous, Creditflux's 10-page quarterly report eaturing comments from 15 credit experts

Mallinckrodt takes chapter 11 prescription as CLOs hold $650 million
CLO managers hold around $657.8 million debt of Mallinckrodt, a Dublin-headquartered biopharmaceutical company that has filed for chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

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

Former GoldenTree high-flyers launch structured credit firm in Los Angeles
A former GoldenTree senior portfolio manager and business development specialist have launched an asset manager that will invest across an array of structured credit, including CLOs, synthetics and private transactions

Brigade appoints ex-Schroders official as CEO
Brigade Capital Management has appointed a former Schroders co-head of fixed income as CEO 

Barings and PGIM win loan and structured credit mandates as pension puts £2.7bn in credit
The firms will manage global syndicated loans, securitised credit, emerging market debt and global high yield credit for Border to Coast Pension Partnership's £2.7 billion ($3.43 billion) multi-asset credit fund 

Blackstone reveals CLO originator NAV was understated for four months
Blackstone says the net asset value of class A units in its privately-offered CLO originator were understated between 31 March and 30 June

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

Fair Oaks resumes dividends on listed CLO fund
Fair Oaks Capital will resume paying dividends on its listed fund Fair Oaks Income Fund

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

Two large managers prepare CLO funds
Another two managers have joined the plethora of firms launching CLO-focused funds of late including CIFC, Capital Four, DFG, Eagle Point, Neuberger Berman, Octagon, and Tetragon

CIFC prepares CLO opportunity fund
CIFC Asset Management is preparing to launch its fourth CLO oppportunity Fund, CIFC CLO Opportunity Fund IV

Fair Oaks tops up on double B CLO tranches in May
Fair Oaks topped up on double B-rated CLO tranches in its listed CLO fund in May, adding $79 million par value of BB-rated paper