Louisiana pension commits $150 million to mezzanine and credit opportunities funds
Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana has awarded $150 million to two credit funds managed by Ares Management and Audax Group at its 7 May board meeting, a spokesperson for the pension has confirmed

Sculptor doubles global credit exposure in master fund amid dislocation
Sculptor Capital Management has doubled its global credit exposure in its Master Fund during the covid-19 volatility, according to the firm’s Q1 earnings call

KKR takes covid-19 hit on flagship credit funds and lev fin
KKR took a 16% hit to returns on its alternative credit flagship funds amid the first quarter coronavirus downturn and a 13% loss on leveraged credit, taking these into negative territory for the last 12 months. The firm's private equity portfolio also slumped by 12%

Ares raises $3 billion special situations fund ahead of huge European direct lending launch
Ares Management has witnessed “accelerated fundraising” for its special situations fund, which it has closed at around $3 billion, according to the firm’s earnings calls. The firm also launched its fifth European direct lending fund this week, which Ares expects could be “the largest private comingled fund in its history”

On-site due diligence rules pose fundraising challenge
Stipulations in some fund limited partner bylaws dictating strict due diligence could pose a challenge for asset managers, sources say

Credit funds at a glance (May 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Three CLO investors win mandates from US insurer
New York State Insurance Fund has selected 11 credit managers to invest around $1 billion across corporate loans, high yield bonds and CLO tranches, according to documentation seen by Creditflux. Three  of these mandates are geared towards CLOs 

Massachusetts pension commits $200 million to structured and corporate credit
Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Trust has approved commitments with CKC Credit Opportunity and LMCG Serenitas  

Hamilton Lane limits uncalled commitments with private market fund
Hamilton Lane has launched a private assets fund, in a strategy that will "seek to limit the exposure of uncalled commitments and shorten the duration of expected cash flows relative to a traditional portfolio”

Pimco plans to outperform come rain or shine with $4.5bn all-weather fund
Pimco has become the latest manager to fashion a flexible, all weather credit fund that invests across public and private markets, geographies and capital structures. The Newport Beach-based manager is hoping to raise $3 billion for the strategy. With half a turn of leverage, it could have up to $4.5 billion to deploy.

Pimco launches listed multi-sector global credit fund
Known as Pimco Tactical Income Fund, the fund will invest in a range of global credit strategies and will list on the New York Stock Exchange

Goldman Sachs AM explores interval structure for credit fund
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has begun marketing for an interval fund primarily focused on credit investments

BlueBay launches global leveraged finance fund
BlueBay Asset Management has launched a global leveraged finance fund that is able to allocate towards high yield bonds, leveraged loans, structured credit and investment grade assets

KKR adds CLO mezz and private credit to mix with opportunistic credit fund
The new interval fund will invest in opportunistic credit, including CLO mezzanine debt, as well as private debt 

New EC fund rules could lead to ‘pre-pre-marketing’
The European Commission has approved a standardised concept of ‘pre-marketing’ in a move that could see more capital flow through the European Economic Area. The new definition of pre-marketing is meant to provide clarity, but some sources say that the amendments could be seen as an additional burden and lead to a concept of pre-pre-marketing.

BlackRock launches $2 billion coporate credit fund with special situations remit
BlackRock has closed its flagship opportunistic credit fund, Global Credit Opportunities, with $2 billion capital commitments

Kayne Anderson targets direct lending and liquid credit mix for new fund
Kayne Anderson is looking to launch a closed-ended fund focused on direct lending, liquid credit and energy and infrastructure equity investments

Credit plays a big part as KKR increases AUM by $6.5 billion
KKR grew its assets under management by 8% over the second quarter, according to the firm’s earnings call, which took place on Thursday.

GSO adds $10 billion to inflows with direct lending, structured credit and energy
Blackstone grew its credit assets under management to $139.3 billion, up 13% on a year ago, according to the firm's second quarter earnings release

GSO generates $4.5 billion capital for energy-focused credit fund
GSO Capital Partners has closed its second energy-focused credit fund with $4.5 billion of capital commitments, the firm has announced. Creditflux understands that the fund originally targeted a $5 billion final close

Tribeca launches Asian credit fund with new hire
The Australian manager has recieved $50 million from a family office

Shenkman targets $500 million for opportunistic credit fund
Shenkman’s opportunistic fund will aim to take advantage of the volatility in the market

Muzinich launches multi-strategy credit fund with Italian wealth manager
Available for retail investors, the fund will invest in syndicated loans, private debt and high yield. It will be structured as a European Long-Term Investment Fund

Ares grows credit 34% with direct lending boost, but high yield takes rough ride in Q4
Ares Management Corporation reported strong returns for its European direct lending strategies in the fourth quarter of 2018. But the firm's overall revenues slumped and its US loan funds and high yield strategies were hit by the volatile credit market 

Former BlackRock portfolio manager lands at start-up credit firm Tresidor
Tresidor Investment Management – the new credit manager led by BlackRock’s former head of European credit Michael Phelps and ex-Goldman Sachs synthetic CDO head Edgar Senior – has added a credit portfolio manager to its team ahead of its maiden fund launch