Eagle Point bulks up on CLO equity
Eagle Point Credit Company deployed $35.1 million of its capital into CLO equity investments in the third quarter, buying $8.4 million in the secondary market and the remainder in primary, while selling just $4.8 million

Correction: JP Morgan shifts bulk of CLO portfolio to held to maturity
JP Morgan has shifted two thirds of its CLO portfolio to the 'held to maturity' part of its balance sheet, posting $31.15 billion worth of CLO holdings on 30 September of which $20.95 billion were held to maturity

Skybridge looks to cut structured credit and distressed debt exposure
SkyBridge Capital, the fund of hedge funds manager run by ex-White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, is set to curb the structured credit and distressed corporate debt exposure in its SkyBridge G II Fund

IG and crossover indices converge while European CLO double Bs rally
iTraxx Crossover is again outperforming Main today with the investment grade index widening 0.11bp to 52.56bp while the crossover index is 2.42bp tighter to 296.99bp. Meanwhile bank research signals that junior CLO tranches could benefit as investors look at covid industries through a different lense 

Relative value has shifted towards CLO double Bs, conference hears
CLO double B tranches are on course for significant spread tightening, according to participants on day one of Creditflux's CLO Investor Summit on Thursday

CDS indices edge wider and positive skew opens as Pershing Square puts on new hedge
Credit indices have widened a touch this week but they’re back in focus with reports that Pershing Square Capital Management, led by Bill Ackman, has this week used CDS indices to hedge parts of its equity portfolio

European CLO double Bs jump wider amid October macro worries - but seniors stand firm
The fortunes of investment grade and high yielding European CLO tranches have gone in opposite directions in the last month. In a year where relative value has shifted several times, Creditflux analysis shows that new issue European CLO double Bs have blown out by 16.5% in October versus September, while triple A-rated notes have tightened 6.7% in that time

Fed again warns of CLO risks as senior and junior spreads split
The Federal Reserve's latest financial stability report again warns of risks in CLO structures amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic

Skews flip in Europe after IG credit indices lead rally
Credit spreads are budging wider this morning after a relentless rally this week which culminated in iTraxx Main tightening 4.2bp (7.2%) and iTraxx Crossover tightening 18.8bp (5.54%) at the close yesterday

Chin up – it’s been a pretty good effort
CLO managers did well to survive the covid-19 crash in loan valuations — but they failed to fully capitalise on the ensuing volatility, say participants in the Creditflux CLO Census 2020

Elements work against CLO managers in Q3
CLO equity distributions fell in Q3 largely due to factors, such as Libor mismatches, that CLO managers can’t control. But these headwinds could turn in favour of managers in the near future

Robots rise for credit ratings
A fintech platform is launching this month that aims to use artificial intelligence to democratise credit ratings.

Less credit volatility expected in Q4 despite US election fallout
CLO issuance was expectedly low in the final week of October in the run-up to the US election, as issuers brace for what has historically been a volatility-inducing macro-event. But prominent market participants say the unprecedented economic backdrop resulting from the pandemic means the outcome of the 2020 election is less likely to move the dial as much as in cycles past

Credit rally slows but structured finance funds gain
Corporate credit spreads levelled off in September, which means that 63% of funds in the Creditflux database have just a single quarter left to make it to positive returns for the calendar year.  

Fund performance: Structured finance finds its footing with credit rally
For the first time this year we have seen a structured finance fund take the top spot, as Serone Key Opportunities Fund leads a multitude of other funds in this category in the top 10 of our monthly fund rankings

Ucits at a glance: European funds and CLOs head rankings
Ucits fund returns

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

Credit hedge funds (November 2020)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Credit rally rolls on as indices approach one-month tights
CDS indices are approaching their mid-October tights as reality seeps in of a divided US government and, consequently, little chance of dramatic corporate tax increases. Yesterday, iTraxx Main led the way, tightening 5.3%, followed by CDX NA HY and CDX IG (both 4.5%) and iTraxx Crossover (2.8%)

BofA sees fruits of its labour after rebuilding macro credit and index businesses
Bank of America is among the dealers that is revelling in the re-emergence of relative value credit trading this year with the bank's index tranche and index trading volumes up roughly 85% and 70% this year

Indices retrace wider as contested election scenario looms
Credit is moving wider this morning as a contested US presidential election looms. This comes as incumbent Donald Trump threatened to go to the US Supreme Court in the early hours of this morning, citing election fraud and calling to stop votes being counted

Loan default rate to reach 8% by June 2021, says S&P
S&P Global has predicted a US loan market default rate of 8% by next summer, according to new research from the rating agency released today

Single names join rally as positive skews persist in Europe
Single name CDS has joined the rally with European credit moving tighter this morning to continue the momentum from Monday. iTraxx Main is trading 2.1 basis tighter at 61.1bp today, according to IHS Markit, having shed 1.9bp yesterday. Similarly, iTraxx Crossover at 348.2bp has tightened 9.7bp today after tightening 9.1bp yesterday

Ares holds €6.97 billion first close on European direct lending fund
Ares Management Group has collected $12 billion in gross credit commitments over the third quarter of the year, according to the firm’s earnings presentation, including $8.2 billion for the first closing of its fifth European direct lending fund

Direct lending green shoots flourish despite fundraising plunge
Despite the headline figures, sources say European direct lending fundraising remains healthy and newcomers have a place to enter