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

Canadian pension awards €300 million to middle market real estate debt
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has awarded €300 million to a separately managed account focused on real estate across Spain and Portugal. The pension fund did not name who this partnership was with 

NEPC sees bias toward private markets despite lower return expectations
NEPC sees private markets in 2020 as a way for institutional investors to withstand volatility, said its director of asset allocation, Phillip Nelson, during a Q3 update yesterday

Ucits at a glance
A round-up of ucits fund performance

Solar BDC shines a light on its bid to focus on first lien loans
Solar Capital is taking a prudent approach to loan investments with the firm reducing its exposure to second liens, according to the business development company's earnings call

NEPC flags caution on leveraged loans and private credit
Private credit does not provide enough returns for the risk, according to the advisor to institutional investors

Creditflux and Debtwire unveil second European Direct Lending Perspectives report
Creditflux and its Acuris stablemate Debtwire have joined forces to produce their second European Direct Lending Perspectives, a report that sheds light on the biggest trends from Q1

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

Raven asset-based fund gets nod from San Joaquin pension for an extension
The San Joaquin County Employees’ Retirement Association approved an extension of its $50 million investment with Raven Asset Management to June 2020

Upper mid-market yields value on price and leverage
Direct lenders are getting access to greater deal flow in the upper middle-market with private equity sponsors leaning towards private credit after a torrid end to last year in the broadly syndicated loan market.

Direct lenders pin hopes on ESG as risk management tool
Strategies geared towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) may have originally been popularised at the behest of pension funds seeking responsible investments, but there are growing hopes that incorporating ESG will help fund managers outperform in a downturn.

It's a question of timing: US direct lending allocations hit a bump in the road
Recent disclosures from public pension funds point to a pull-back in private credit allocations

Arizona pension bullish on private credit after beating benchmark
Credit returns have bolstered performance for Arizona State Retirement System – and the pension fund remains bullish on future allocations to private debt

Robus lifts soft-close from credit fund after capitalising on late-2018 correction
The soft close for Robus Mid-Market Value Bond Fund has been in place since October 2017

New investments drive Canada Pension Plan’s credit returns to 8.7%
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)’s credit portfolio has delivered good returns during the 2019 fiscal year, despite the market volatility, according to the institution’s annual financial report  

Texas pension fund looks to top up credit portfolio
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) has decided to increase by 3% its target allocation to strategic credit  

Danish pension fund eyes niche credit opportunities
PensionDanmark is preparing for more volatility in 2019 by casting its eye towards niche opportunities in the special situations and distressed debt market. The Copenhagen-based pension fund last month merged its alternatives and private debt platforms

Direct lender suspends withdrawals amid large loan default, reports Bloomberg
A borrower comprising 25% of a direct lender's portfolio has defaulted on a loan - leading to the fund suspending withdrawals and redemptions to investors

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 

Carlyle performance dips in Q4, but credit teams ride global volatility
Credit fund performance dipped for the Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter, as market volatility and fund outflows put a dent in the industry’s much stronger performance of the previous three quarters

Oaktree reports distressed gains over year despite Q4 losses
Oaktree was not immune from challenging fourth quarter globally. Its distressed debt strategy, for instance, returned a gross loss of 1.5%

Performing credit tops distressed credit for Blackstone, but credit AUM declines
The firm is looking to boost its direct lending business to gain $10 billion of available capital over the next couple of years

Minnesota pension slates $200 million to private credit after strong returns over Q3 2018
Minnesota State Board of Investments has awarded a $200 million commitment to two private credit managers

Neiman Marcus loan slumps amid debt restructuring talks
The luxury fashion retailer’s $2.95 billion cov-lite term loan B, due October 2020, traded down 1.65%, according to IHS Markit 

Tikehau’s private debt AUM hits €7.5 billion
Tikehau Capital, the Paris-based asset management and investment firm, has reached €7.5 billion in private debt assets under management (AUM) as of September 2018. This represents an increase of 17% for the third quarter, amounting to €1.1 billion