Credit funds at a glance (February 2023)
A round up of people moves and fundraising

ICG hires former BlueMountain lev loan and HY senior analyst
Intermediate Capital Group has hired a senior analyst focusing on liquid credit

PSP and Aimco form credit partnership as Aimco poaches its global credit head
Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (Aimco) have struck a remarkable agreement which sees the pair jointly invest in credit and the transfer of a senior figure. 

SEC charges former BlackRock PM with undisclosed conflict of interest
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it has charged a former BlackRock portfolio manager for failing to disclose a conflict of interest in a fund he managed from 2015 to 2019

European and Asian surge extends as inflation and gas improvements fuel rally
US credit remains the laggard as spreads elsewhere extend their strong start to the year, taking European and Asian indices back to the recent tight levels

Brighter start for credit in 2023 as investors return with bid for risk
Credit markets have opened the year on a positive footing, with Europe particularly buoyant as investors lift CDS hedges they placed at the end of 2022 and some bonds receive enthusiastic bids in the secondary market

LA pension awards $675 million to illiquid credit managed account
The strategy will invest across asset-backed credit, loans, bonds, and specialty finance

Largarde snowballs puncture complacent calm and shocks spreads wider
Credit markets are ending the week on a big push wider, after European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde delivered the surprise that had been missing from other central bank messaging

Credit belatedly gives up gains after flurry of central bank hikes
Credit markets barely flickered on Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve announcements, but successive central bank rate hikes on Thursday have caused spreads to widen as traders prepare for the festive season slowdown

CDS volume jumps by 50% as investors seek new ways to do business
Credit derivatives traders are wrapping up a bumper year, in which there was a big increase in volume and a growing number of use cases for the product

Fund performance: Light at the end of the tunnel for credit funds after difficult year
Following a tough September, credit funds bounced back in October as 59% of funds made positive returns.

Credit hedge fund returns (December 2023)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit funds at a glance (December 2023)
A round up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Early Christmas for credit longs as US inflation delivers huge rally
Credit markets have rallied sharply after the latest US reading of inflation came in lower than had been largely anticipated

Major fund withdrawals undermine credit momentum
Credit funds are extending their run of inflows into the end of the year, but investment grade momentum took a dent last week due to investors in one big fund pulling their money

Buy-out rumours send US high yield company back to January spread levels
Not many single name credits are ending 2022 at the same spread levels they entered the year, but one US high yield company has that profile after its rally of the past three weeks picked up speed following buy-out rumours

US pension plans termination of manager to bring "portfolio closer to market duration neutral"
Arkansas Teacher Retirement System is planning to reallocate assets to two existing fixed income managers

Capex and real yields will split winners from losers in '23: BofA
Companies able to undertake capital expenditure will be the winners in 2023, while those historically most sensitive to rising real yields should inspire caution, say Bank of America strategists

Credit and commodities diverge after China abandons zero-covid approach
Markets present a mixed picture at the start of the week, with Europe – still processing Friday’s US jobs numbers – opening cautiously after China’s retreat from strict zero-covid policies boosts commodity prices but raises fears of an infection wave

Rebuke for optimism as US jobs send market bulls running for cover
Investors’ determination to maintain an optimistic outlook on US Federal Reserve policy hit a point of reckoning on Friday, with hot US jobs numbers adding weight to committee members’ message that there is still a lot more work for them to do

Powell outlook brings risk buyers out in droves, but reality check looks soon to follow
Comments by US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday on the pace of future rate hikes have prompted a sharp rally across global financial markets, including credit. But dissenting voices have already begun to point out the enthusiasm is likely overdone

Public credit markets "most attractive for 15 years" says Wamco
The US Federal Reserve is helping to create the potential for the "most attractive opportunity in public credit markets in the last 15 years", according to a research note published by Western Asset Management

Credit Suisse spreads hit year's new wides
Protection buying against a Credit Suisse default has taken the bank’s five-year CDS to the widest levels of the year, with the front end of the curve increasingly inverted

Europe regains momentum versus US despite bank concerns
European outperformance is extending this week, taking investment grade and high yield spreads alike to their tightest prints since June relative to their US peers. But Credit Suisse remains a blot on Europe’s record as the bank’s short term risk levels continue a worrying trend

Credit Suisse slumps in bleak Monday, but high yield name sharply bucks trend
Financial markets are beginning the week on an uncertain footing, with anti-covid lockdown protests in China hitting commodity prices hard. But one European high yield company has bucked credit’s widening push with a massive rally