Credit Rendezvous: heading for homes
Fund managers in structured credit, real assets and distressed are bullish on the prospects for residential housing in 2021. Elsewhere, niche royalty-based strategies are in favour and although a CLO repricing wave is expected, it may not be easy to execute resets. For more, read our 13-page quarterly report on credit. 

Credit funds at a glance: several funds post double digit November returns
November was a strong month for credit hedge funds listed by Creditflux, with latest returns demonstrating the effect of the vaccine/US election rally on fund perfomance

CLO pipeline: 2020 absentees join new issue rush
The CLO pipeline is growing by the minute as managers prepare their first new issues of the year after varying lengths out of the market

Fidelity steps into European CLOs with MeDirect deal
Fidelity International is breaking into European CLOs after striking a deal to acquire the CLO management team from MeDirect

US CLO manager rekindles European CLO ambitions as it launches debut 2.0
A large US CLO issuer has revived its European CLO plans, more than two years on from its failed attempt

Beneath the triple C: 13 CLO loans take a dive but defaults subside to a ripple
22 corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in November and December by Moody’s or S&P, out of which 13 can be found in CLO portfolios  – hurting $4.55 billion of US CLO loans, €1.87 billion of European CLO portfolios and almost $80 million of middle market CLOs loans, according to CLO-i

Euro CLO league tables: Killer Bs: Barclays and Blackstone cause buzz to lead new issuance
The coronavirus pandemic-induced volatility had a marked effect on the European CLO market in 2020 with total issuance falling by €18.5 billion and new issuance €7.8 billion lower than 2019’s figures

Global 2020 CLO league tables
Global 2020 CLO league tables 

2020 wrap: CLO funds bloom despite rocky ground
2020 was a busy year for CLO fundraising, with Creditflux recording at least 30 funds that launched over the 12 months to invest across the CLO capital structure

CLO 2021 outlook: back to the 'old' normal with volumes, spreads and structures to revert to pre-covid levels
Predictions went out the window this year because, well, who in December 2019 could have foreseen a pandemic devastating lives and wrecking financial markets? But the emergence of vaccines to combat the threat of the coronavirus has spurred a rally in credit over the last month. And CLO researchers expect a resurgence in 2021 with US new issue CLO volumes predicted to hit the $80-110 billion range, according to reports analysed by Creditflux.

Fund performance: CLOs look to continue recovery with end of the year in sight
CLO funds claim the majority of positions in our top 10

Global CLO b-wic round-up: junior tranches trade above par as US volumes reach $45bn
A busy week of over $1.4 billion of US CLO secondary bonds and €290 million of European CLO paper gave light to CLO spreads across the capital structure continuing their push towards pre-covid levels

It's all relative: Euro CLO mezz rallies to follow month-long IG/HY compression
European credit suffered this week with Brexit talks between the UK and the EU dragging on and both sides conceding that a trade deal is unlikely to be reached by Sunday’s deadline. But European CLO tranches have held up reasonably well with mezzanine spreads tightening by almost 13% in December

Capital Four prices second European CLO with triple As at 105bp
Capital Four priced its second ever European CLO today named Capital Four CLO II. Barclays arranged the €356.2 million transaction

400 holds $430 million final close on opportunistic structured credit fund
400 Asset Based Term Fund II will invest across structured credit including special situations, risk-transfers, and liquidity premium opportunities in the primary and secondary markets

Global CLO league tables - November 2020 YTD
Global CLO league tables - November 2020 YTD

Euro CLO league tables: Barclays heads close race for new issues
Bridgepoint became the fifth European debut manager in 2020 when it teamed up with Barclays to price Bridgepoint CLO I on 13 November. The €301.85 million deal featured triple A notes at 121bp over Euribor, 11bp wide of market tights

Europe leads corporate credit rally, but US outperforms in CLOs
iTraxx Crossover has been the CDS market's outperformer this week, tightening over 30 basis points, or 11.4%, to trade at 235bp today. But in the CLO market, US deals have come out on top thanks to a BlackRock CLO that priced its double Bs at some of the tightest levels this year

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

CLO pipeline: LCM switches arranger to complete deal and join issuance surge
Over $3.5 billion of global CLO issuance priced last week and managers in all three CLO markets are taking advantage of tightening spreads across the capital structure after three major covid-19 vaccine breakthroughs and increased confidence since the US presidential election

Global CLO b-wic round-up: Junior tranches rally amid heavy supply, including portfolio liquidation
The US CLO secondary market rally is showing no signs of slowing down after a week of over $1 billion worth of bonds was listed and well absorbed, according to market sources. The European market also had a roust week with over €300 million of paper up for grabs, although the market stayed generally flat with some tightening in double and single Bs

OC health check: 41 CLOs heal their breaches
147 CLOs breached an over-collateralisation test in October, down from 183 in September. 41 CLOs that breached an OC test in September passed all OC tests in October, most of which had October payment dates

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

Fitch adds two metrics to Euro CLO pre-sale reports to aid triple A investors
Fitch Ratings has added two new metrics to its European CLO presale reports, which the rating agency says will help triple-A CLO investors compare the ‘structural robustness’ of investments and their ‘cushion against potential downgrades’