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

[update] Beneath the triple C: theme parks take portfolios on downward ride
Seven corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in September by Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s – hurting $2.16 billion of US CLO loans and €1.16 billion of European CLO portfolio. The pace of CLO loan downgrades to triple C has slowed steadily since the peak in April

Värde names deputy CEO and several promotions
The transitional appointments follow George Hicks, co-founder and co-CEO, saying in July last year he would move to an executive chair role by the end of 2021

Sovereign wealth funds empower direct lenders
Sovereign wealth funds are turning toward the booming private credit market, with three massive partnerships formed this year

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

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

Banks tighten asset approval terms for CLO warehouses
Managers have raised concerns over tighter, lender-friendly terms in new-look US CLO warehouses as banks gradually reopen these lending facilities

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

Points up front: How much do I owe you?
Payment systems in the credit industry had a bad August

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

Details emerge on nature of Revlon payment 'error' and lender attitudes
Fresh details have emerged on the nature of the ‘operational error’ Citi says took place when it transferred $900 million to Revlon loan holders

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 

Sixth Street nears $12 billion for flexible global credit fund
Sixth Street collected $8.5 billion for its fifth TSSP Adjacent Opportunities Partners fund, TAO 5.0, by the end of July, with the fund nearing its $12 billion hard cap

Beneath the triple C: CLOs get their sneakers on as retailers run into bankruptcy
July added further relief to CLO portfolios with the slowest rate of downgrades to triple C since March. US CLO portfolios faced downgrades of $2.18 billion to triple C while European portfolios faced just €59.13 million of such downgrades

Fieldwood slips into second bankruptcy as CLOs hold $314 million
CLO managers hold $314.5 million of oil and gas drilling company Fieldwood Energy, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday for the second time in two years 

CLOs hold $600 million of bankrupt retailer Tailored Brands
Tailored Brands has become the latest US retailer to file for Chapter 11 as a result of the coronavirus-induced pandemic. 37 US CLO managers hold $588.9 million in term loans of the Houston-headquartered firm,

Ostrum's US CLO plan takes a turn after head of structured credit leaves
An experienced CLO PM has left Ostrum after just one year

Onex to liquidate listed US loan fund
Onex Credit Partners has announced that it will liquidate its publicly listed leveraged loan fund, OCP Senior Credit Fund, following a slump in asset levels

Goldman Sachs collects $6.4 billion for opportunistic credit fund
Goldman Sachs’s merchant banking division has collected $6.4 billion from more than 1,500 investors on its inaugural opportunistic credit fund, West Street Strategic Solutions I

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