Pitching your structured credit fund: the three golden rules
Structured credit fund managers were given a lesson in how to market their strategies by a group of asset allocators at the Creditflux CLO Summit in New York.

Beware of "mequity" risk in direct lending, writes Barings
Barings co-head of global private finance, Ian Fowler, predicts that the adoption of lending terms associated with broadly syndicated loans into private credit will not prove beneficial in the long term

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

BlueMountain starts new chapter as co-founder leaves and it winds down hedge fund
There are sweeping changes taking place at BlueMountain Capital Management, with the firm announcing that co-founder Stephen Siderow is leaving and that it is winding down its flagship hedge fund, BlueMountain Credit Alternatives Fund

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

Green bonds and international credit deliver double-digit returns for Swedish pension
Second Swedish National Pension Fund (AP2) reached SEK 367.4 billion in the first half of 2019, with investments in fixed income generating double-digit returns, according to its half year report  

Janus Henderson increases position in CLO Ucits fund
The London-based manager says that, while it has cut exposure to CLO funds, this one has has a more conservative nature 

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

Och-Ziff revenue tumbles despite inflows to credit funds and CLOs
Och-Ziff Capital Management posted a net loss of $8.6 million in the second quarter, which it blamed on the market’s reaction to US China trade tensions and the US Federal Reserve’s twist of monetary policy

Ellington finds Ucits success with mix of structured and synthetic
Fund managers are finding ample liquidity in the structured and synthetic credit market and this is helping them outperform in the Ucits fund universe.

Sound Point swaps evergreen fund for drawdown
Sound Point Capital Management is dropping its evergreen distressed debt fund in favour of a vehicle that will employ a drawdown structure, as is customary for distressed strategies.

Ucits at a glance: Amundi and Loomis Sayles funds register big gains in H1

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.

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

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

Clover Tech cov-lite loan blots CLOs after spilling a third of its value
The past week’s biggest declining loan by some way, for printing cartridge maker Clover Technologies (aka 4L Technology), is a worry for CLO portfolios as some 21 managers hold the name, according to CLO-i

Calpers misses returns target despite fixed income outperformance
California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) has missed its annual investment target despite strong performance from its fixed income portfolio, which was its top performer  

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.

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

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