West coast pension looks to step up direct lending allocations
The City of Fresno Retirement System will commit $140-160 million to private credit for the next two years, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux. This comes amid a pause in direct lending commitments for the pension fund, which has not committed any capital to this market in 2019

Minnesota pension to invest $300 million in distressed and private credit funds
Minnesota State Board of Investments is set to invest $100 million in a mezzanine debt fund and $200 million in a distressed debt fund

Arizona pension to deploy up to $700 million a year in private credit
Arizona Public Safety Employee System is looking to deploy $600-700 million in private credit strategies per year in order to meet its target allocation, according to board documents seen by Creditflux.

JP Morgan AM closes first special situations fund
JP Morgan Asset Management has held a final closing for its first special situations fund, with more than 50% of investors backing the fund to be first-time investors in a JP Morgan Alternatives fund

Russell and Mediobanca launch multi-asset fund with CLO allocation
Mediobanca Private Banking has joined forces with Russell Investments to set up a fund that has a 20% allocation to credit, sources say  

Boston-based pension backs Searchlight distressed fund
Cambridge Retirement System, the $1.27 billion pension fund, has committed $150 million to Searchlight Capital Partners III during the second semester of 2019, according to documents seen by Creditflux.  

Utah fund set to invest $45 million across Beach Point and Crestline funds
The Utah School & Institutional Trust Fund Office is set to make commitments to credit funds managed by Beach Point Capital Management and Crestline Investors

CVC closes $1.4 bilion special situations fund
CVC Credit Partners has held a final close at $1.42 billion for its second global special situations fund, which it says took eight months to fundraise.

Bain plans $3 billion distressed fund with US pension fund eyeing commitment
Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) is set to invest $200 million to Bain Capital Distressed and Special Situations 2019 (DSS 19) fund, according to documents seen by Creditflux.  

Clearlake casts $1 billion net for second opportunistic fund
The Santa Monica based firm has upped the target size for its opportunistic credit, distressed and structured equity fund  

Jefferies subsidiary and Stonyrock plan mid-market alternative manager stake acquisitions
The new joint venture will invest in private equity, credit, hedge funds, real estate, venture, and infrastructure firms

Maryland pension carves out private debt bucket
The Baltimore pension fund has also mandated a total of $25 million to one direct lending fund and one distressed debt fund 

Credit funds at a glance

A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

US pension backs Vista credit fund
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has approved a $50 million commitment to Vista Credit Partners Fund III, according to documents from the March board of trustees meeting  

US pension fund earmarks $375 million for various credit strategies
Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (Mass PRIM) has committed $125 million to distressed, $100 million to aviation investments, while earmarking $150 million for structured credit    

Alaska pension commits $545 million to seven credit funds
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation has earmarked $545 million to funds across the credit spectrum across Q2, according to 27 February board documentation

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

Texas pension fund commits €75 million to European distressed debt
A $30.01 billion pension fund has awarded €75 million to a European distressed debt fund managed by AnaCap Financial Partners

US pension commits $100 million to Apollo's hybrid private credit/private equity fund
Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System has mandated $100 million to a multi-strategy fund managed by New York-based Apollo Global Management

Four private credit managers score as Arizona pension fund commits $250 million
The $9.78 billion pension fund has mandated nearly $250 million to four private credit managers, alongside additional commitments for co-investment opportunities 

Louisiana pension fund assigns $200 million to DoubleLine and GoldenTree
Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System has allocated to distressed debt and mortgage credit funds run by two experienced asset managers

Oaktree raises new special situations fund while CIO warns of direct lending risk
Oaktree Capital Management has released its second quarter 2018 results in which the Los Angeles-based firm reported $2.4 billion of new capital commitments in the quarter

Michigan pension fund looks to commit $80 million to debt funds
The $114 billion Michigan pension fund is looking to commit to two private debt funds managed by London-based Kreos Capital and New-York headquartered MidOcean Credit Partners

65% of distressed managers plan new funds over the next year, survey finds
Distressed debt is proving to be a popular strategy for managers, with 65% intending to launch a distressed strategy in the next 12 months, according to a report by Creditflux’s sister publication Debtwire and law firm Ropes & Gray.     

Massachusetts pension fund invests $75 million with TowerBrook
Mass PRIM) has made a $75 million commitment to New-York based TowerBrook Capital Partners for its second structured opportunities fund, according to 15 May board documentation