Lazard announces 2017 earnings and considers C Corporation structure
Bermuda-headquartered Lazard is considering a ‘C Corporation’ structure, under which the corporation would be taxed separately from its owners

ICG increases fundraising goal as direct lending funds near full deployment
London-based Intermediate Capital Group has increased its fundraising target to €6 billion per year on a rolling three-year basis

Cairn works reg cap and eyes another fund launch
Cairn Capital’s regulatory capital relief business is up and running, with the firm closing its first deals late last year

Alchemy strikes gold with new distressed fund hitting £900 million
Distressed debt specialist Alchemy Partners has successful raised £900 million for its fourth special opportunities fund, holding a final close at the fund's hard cap

Manager edges closer to its $3 billion hard cap on credit fund
A California pension fund has approved a commitment for up to $30 million in a credit and distressed debt fund

Chenavari fund swells assets by $72 million following relaunch
Chenavari has grown assets of a long/short credit vehicle by more than $70 million following the vehicle’s relaunch last year, its co-manager says

Octopus inks new UK real estate debt fund after raising £115 million
UK property lender Octopus Property today announced a first close of £115m for its Commercial Real Estate Debt Fund II

UK pension fund looks for direct lending manager
Northern England county looks to give $175 million SME lending mandate 

US pension fund looks to rejig Western Asset's bond mandate
In anticipation of a rise in interest rates, one pension fund is looking to scrap a benchmarked-bond mandate run by Western Asset in favour of an unconstrained approach to bond management 

Eiffel hires experienced private debt specialist in Paris
Eiffel Investment Group hires experienced private placements specialist for credit team 

Spreads blow out as traders look for proxies for Russia’s woes
Credit spreads on Kazakhstan and Carlsberg jump wider on Russian links 

Credit market snapshot: spreads inch out as oil continues to decline
US indices lead credit wider as questions are raised about European economy  

Novel risk-adjusting fund adds credit exposure
The world's first “risk parity” fund dedicated to fixed income has recently boosted its exposure to corporate debt

Argentina credit default swaps settle at 39.5
Argentina became only the third sovereign to have credit default swaps settlement determined by an auction yesterday

Texas pension fund hires manager to run high yield portfolio
A large pension fund, which has been a big supporter of credit strategies this year, is allocating capital to high yield bonds