Wells Fargo brings in head of IG credit trading
Wells Fargo has hired a head of investment grade credit trading and a credit sales official to its team in the US

Asia CDS index overhaul posits 50% constituent change
IHS Markit has said it will push ahead with plans to overhaul iTraxx Asia ex-Japan CDS index rules from the next roll in September, with up to half the constituents expected to change over time as it seeks closer alignment with the cash bond market

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

Muzinich targets short-maturity bonds for new global IG credit fund
Muzinich & Co has raised €352 million for an investment grade credit Ucits fund on the back of what it describes as a “response to strong client demand”

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

Deutsche Bank AT1s stage uneven recovery as financials lag broader rally
The prompt secondary market backlash to Deutsche Bank’s plans for a major haul of its investment banking business has abated, with AT1 bonds experiencing a revival and outperforming equity. But while there has been little contagion to the rest of the AT1 space, financials are lagging the broader European credit rally

Ontario pension selects new president and CEO

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has appointed Jo Taylor as its new president and chief executive officer, effective 1 January  

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.

Ucits at a glance

Fund performance

Bantleon expands into IG credit with head of corporate credit appointment
Bantleon has appointed Michael Hess for the newly created role of head of portfolio management corporate credit.  

Axa IM finds replacement for top fixed income role
Axa Investment Managers has appointed Christophe Herpet as global head of Axa fixed income and its buy and maintain division

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

First Abu Dhabi Bank pushes into credit derivatives with trading head hire
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is making a foray into credit derivatives and has hired an experienced credit trader to lead the initiative

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

Citi hires UK banks and private equity solution sales head
Citi has hired a long-serving Credit Suisse sales specialist to fill the job previously held by recently promoted Rajiv Amlani

Sun Life merges asset management business to create $159 billion division
Sun Life will merge its fixed income businesses - including Prime Advisors, Ryan Labs and Sun Life Institutional Investors - under a new umbrella named SLC Management 

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

Highbridge refocuses on credit as it liquidates listed multi-strategy fund
Highbridge Capital Management has announced to investors in a multi-strategy fund that it is winding down the vehicle and refocusing its business exclusively towards credit

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

Senior figure rejoins Credit Suisse to head European capital markets
The bank is looking to build out its key European platforms - and has hired an official who left just last summer 

Another BlackRock official lands at new manager Tresidor
Tresidor was founded by CIO Michael Phelps, formerly the head of European fundamental credit at BlackRock