Sears CDS external review panel named to solve Determinations Committee impasse
The North America Determinations Committee has selected an external review panel to decide whether two Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp debt obligations can be delivered into an auction to settle the US retailer’s credit default swaps, having failed to achieve a strong enough quorum among its own 15 members

Lothian pension fund appoints CEO
Lothian Pension Fund has appointed a new chief executive officer, effective from February 2019, to replace Clare Scott, who is leaving at the end of 2018  

Railpen hires former Amundi Pioneer credit head from Tesco pension scheme
RPMI Railpen (Railpen) has appointed an investment director within the private markets team, effective from 26 November  

Blackstone builds on multi-asset approach with fifth fund
The new vehicle will invest directly into Blackstone deals across its alternatives platform

Credit sell-off has room to run and pricing is out of whack, says BNP Paribas
The credit market sell-off could have further to go despite recent widening and is “in the process of a late-stage business cycle unwind”, according to a strategist note seen by Creditflux

Danish pension fund's CEO steps down
Christian Hyldahl, the CEO of Arbejdsmarkedets Tillægspension (ATP), has given his resignation to the pension fund’s chairman of the board Torben Andersen.  

Till debt us do part: CLOs have and hold David's Bridal loans as they plummet 10.87%
CLOs hold $26.63 million exposure to David’s Bridal, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday

Investcorp adds ex-Anteil officials to run manager buy-out business
The new strategy will focus on acquiring up to 25% stakes in mid-sized alternative asset managers

Ex-Citi CDO trading chief joins Jefferies as head of European fixed income
Jefferies has appointed a former Citi European credit and pre-crisis CDO trading head to lead its European fixed income business

California pension fund seeks opportunistic credit manager
Merced County Employees’ Retirement Association is on the search for an opportunistic credit manager, according to board minutes seen by Creditflux

Los Angeles pension fund plans $3.7 billion allocation to credit
Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System, the $17 billion pension fund, is allocating to credit in 2019 - it's looking to put $2.44 billion to work in core-fixed income, $800 million into emerging markets debt, $235 million into high yield and a similar amount into a bond/loan hybrid fund

European loan issuance set to decline in 2019, says Moody's
The outlook for European leveraged loan issuance remains strong for next year, according to report by Moody’s, although levels will depend on M&A activity

Machines connect as credit managers’ new best friends
The clamour for credit funds that adhere to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria means the managers behind these funds are handling ever-larger and deeper data sets. This has led a growing number of fund managers to divert resources into incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning into their investment processes

Managers digest blockbuster deals
Third quarter loan and bond volumes tend to be small — but this year corporate credit fund managers have swallowed huge deals from AkzoNobel, Altice and Refinitiv

UBS AM hires PM to infra debt team as it nears final stages of fundraising
UBS Asset Management has recruited portfolio manager Viktor Kozel to its real estate and private markets business. Speficially, he will work within the infrastructure debt team as the firm goes about fundraising for Archmore Infrastructure Debt Platform II  

Ares ups its target for US senior direct lending growth to $4.7 billion
Following $5 billion of inflows into global direct lending in the third quarter, Ares has upped the target for its US direct lending strategy 

Fixed income heads join forces to launch macro credit fund manager in London
Resco Asset Management, a new asset manager based in London, has launched and set about marketing its debut fund: Resco Macro Credit Fund

BlueMountain hires ex-Deutsche levloan and high yield analyst
The new hire will support portfolio managers responsible for the firm's investments in CLOs

Ullico makes two senior hires for its new fixed income platform
Ullico, an insurance and financial services company, has appointed two senior professionals for its newly-created fixed income investment platform, UIA Investment Management (UIA IM)  

Danish penion fund's credit portfolio returns to growth
ATP, the Danish pension fund, has generated a return of DKK 799m from its credit portfolio for the first three quarters of 2018, marking a recovery compared to the H1 negative return of DKK200m.  

Axa IM reveals new Ucits-compliant global credit fund
The new vehicle aims to offer investors a Ucits-compliant product that invets across the whole credit spectrum 

IFM sets up office in Switzerland and appoints country head
IFM Investors, the Melbourne headquartered institutional investment manager with AUD113 billion ($80.1bn) of assets under management, has opened a new office in Zurich

Crescent hires former NewStar official as managing director
Crescent Capital Group has appointed NewStar Financial's former capital markets head as a managing director, the firm has announced

Ullico sets up fixed-income investment platform
Ullico has launched a US fixed income management firm, UIA Investment Management (UIA-IM), in a bid to expand its range of services and client base by including a broader range of institutional clients.  

LSTA asks for return of CLO bond buckets as part of Volcker reform
The Loan Syndication and Trading Association is advocating the return of high yield bond baskets within US CLO portfolios in what could be another sign of the shackles being loosened on CLO regulation in the US