Fund performance: Mercury rises as does credit fund performance

Ucits at a glance: Amundi and Loomis Sayles funds register big gains in H1

Credit traders' kickstand: tighter and tighter we go, as outlook gets 'worse and worse'
It’s a strange world, where the president of the European Central Bank can say the economic outlook is “getting worse and worse” as credit markets surge into new territories of tightness

Investor requirements rather than performance is driving ESG push: Creditflux survey
Only 14% of respondents to Creditflux's global credit ESG survey said performance was the main reason they were adopting envoronmental, social and governance-themed strategies

CDS has spillover effect on bond liquidity but could cause fire sales, finds BoE researcher
Single name CDS positioning is positive for the bonds of borrowers referenced by the contracts through a ‘liquidity spillover effect’, according to a new paper by a Bank of England research economist. But mark-to-market losses on CDS brought about by higher margining costs could lead to fire sales in the bond market, the paper adds.

Credit traders’ kickstand: curve flatteners and skew trades gain ground
Grinding tighter is the order of the day in credit markets – and indeed looks likely to be the order for much of next week, with an absence of obvious events and catalysts to dictate otherwise. But the strength of the rally in CDS indices has left ‘catch up’ opportunities for relative value traders in curve, basis and even skew based strategies, say market participants

Tourists have turned high yield into a sketchier neighbourhood… IG credit could be the answer
Using CDS to exploit roll-down in IG credit can generate good returns even in a low-rate environment

Tranche trading is back: relative value plays power growth
Synthetic bespoke and index tranche markets are shifting through the gears and accelerating, say investors, as an increasing prevalence of relative value trading strategies evoke dreams of the products returning to pre-financial crisis glory.

Fund performance

Credit traders' kickstand: European financials outperform as Trump-Xi meeting looms
Credit markets are finely poised going into the weekend, when US president Donald Trump’s crunch G20 meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping likely could set the direction of trade from Monday

Credit traders' kickstand: synthetic credit leads the way as spreads swoop on dovish wings
Dovish comments by the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve, along with thin bond issuance, contributed to a pronounced rally this week in credit market. But a nervy week may lie ahead as suspense grows before G20 summit talks between the US and China next Friday and Saturday

Barclays rehires high yield credit trader from Goldman Sachs
A high yield specialist has become the second credit trader in as many months to rejoin Barclays from Goldman Sachs

US and European basis trades in play as bonds lag CDS rally
A recent outperformance of CDS indices versus cash bonds has opened up basis trade opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic, say credit strategists

CDX IG and iTraxx back to level pegging as oil and trade weigh heaviest
Credit markets, along with stocks, enter the week on a flattish tone with focus once again on the next developments between the US and China over trade tariffs. This follows European credit faring better than the US last week as the mood strengthened around Italian and UK risks, say strategists

Trump tariffs and oil slip dent Europe vs US credit decompression trades
Underperformance of US credit derivative indices at the end of last week has created a trading entry point for those still convinced that Europe has more problems. But bearish factors continue to coalesce on both sides of the Atlantic

Credit traders' kickstand: nervous equilibrium gives way to weakness as earnings and tariffs weigh
Healthy fund inflows, European and US holidays, and a thinning primary market helped sustain credit spreads this week, but a weaker turn today shows this is a fragile equilibrium and company earnings misses are starting to be punished more severely

Credit traders' kickstand: grave times for UK banks and corps as May goes away
UK banks have been among the main underperformers in credit this week, with market sources noting that today’s notice of Prime Minister Theresa May’s intention to resign on 7 June increases the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. And UK 'zombie' companies appear to be forming a herd

Credit traders' kickstand: widening catalysts gather force with focus on financials
Credit markets are once again ending the week on a negative tone, having regained some posture over previous sessions following last week’s tariff-driven sell-off. Credit index spreads appear inclined to trade within a range, but potential catalysts for that range to shift wider outweigh any obvious reasons to return to the tight prints of last month

Credit traders' kickstand: Trump gives Europe the ghoulies as single B spectres haunt CLOs
Trade tariff terrors and things that go triple C rated in the night are top of the list of items spooking credit market sentiment at the end of this week

Ice seeks consensus with credit risk analytics service
Intercontinental Exchange (Ice) has launched ICE Credit Risk, a suite of analytics it will provide in collaboration with financial risk assessment company Credit Benchmark

Investors back multi-asset funds for high yield gains
Multi-asset funds that include credit have become popular among institutional investors.

16% of insurers plan CLO allocation increase, survey finds
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has released its annual insurance asset management survey

Carmignac adds global credit Ucits strategy to its range
The fund will be co-managed by Carignac’s head of credit Pierre Verlé and fixed income fund manager Alexandre Deneuville

New manager Resco lands ex-credit head to found advisory board
Resco Asset Management, a London based asset manager set up last year, has appointed the first of an anticipated three advisory board members

Short resets take CDS indices wider at March roll
CDX and iTraxx credit derivative indices are rolling into new series today, with short position resets taking the incoming series 31 of the Europe main index wide of where series 30 closed yesterday