European Commission introduces proposals to tackle high levels of NPLs
In a bid to address the high levels of non-performing loans that are sitting on bank balance sheets, and to reduce future accumulation of NPLs in the banking sector, the European Commission yesterday released proposals to try and tackle the issue.

High Ucits fees? Change strategy or face liquidation, report suggests
Substantially high fees on Ucits have led some funds to merge or liquidate, France’s stock market regulator says

Cheyne generates double-digit returns for hedge funds
Cheyne Capital has delivered with two credit hedge funds that have reached their maturity

Capital Four fund soft closes at €350 million
Copenhagen-based Capital Four Invest has recommended a soft close for its Luxembourg-domiciled Credit Opportunities Fund following its growth to €350 million

Sharp decreases mar THL direct lending BDC's latest financial results
THL Credit has reported a decrease in net assets from operations and net investment income in its newly released financial results, but chief executive Christopher Flynn remains "confident" in the underlying value of the direct lending business

Ares Reit reports year-on-year dip in earnings amid leadership change
The Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation has announced a changed in leadership – and has reported mixed results for fourth quarter 2017

Western Asset Management puts emphasis on IG credit for listed fund
Western Asset Management Company has renamed its Western Asset Income Fund to Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund

FS Investment BDC's assets shrink for fifth year running
FS Investment Corporation, an FS Investments business development company (BDC), failed to grow its assets again in 2017 – but insists its recently announced partnership with KKR will allow it to grow stockholder value

London manager shutters emerging market fund amid "regulatory headwinds"
London-based Insparo Asset Management is shutting down its emerging market debt funds, the company confirms

Private credit drives strong AUM growth for Tikehau
Tikehau Capital grew its AUM by close to 10% in the fourth quarter of 2017 – and private debt had the largest inflows of any of the firm’s asset groups last year

Carlyle’s direct lending BDC hits $2 billion, buoyed by inflows to credit fund
Carlyle’s Group’s direct lending business development company, TCG BDC, has announced a net increase in assets of $27 million for the most recent quarter

Tetragon shuts down distressed debt fund amid claims of fundraising struggles
Tetragon Financial Group is shuttering one of its subsidiary’s funds amid claims of troubles with fundraising

Axa IM looks to increase credit product offerings in the upcoming year
Axa Investment Managers (AXA IM) is looking to further build on its credit business, offering total return credit products as well as structured finance and real assets, in 2018

WisdomTree reaps benefits of "transformative" 2017 with strong earnings release
The ETF specialist revealed an 18.4% year-on-year AUM growth and fixed income inflows in its latest earnings presentation

Och-Ziff’s multi-strategy funds continue to bleed assets
The embattled hedge fund firm’s AUM is down 14% year-on-year, and its multi-strategy assets – which sat at $31.8 million at the end of 2013 – were down to $13.7 billion in December 2017

Natixis AM reports $1 trillion AUM in 2017 results
Paris-headquartered Natixis has reported solid growth, and an end-of-2017 AUM of $1 trillion, for its asset and wealth management unit

AUM drops but Oaktree dubs 2017 a "strong" year
Alternative investment specialist Oaktree Capital Management has reported a slight decrease in assets under management for the year of 2017 – but the Los Angeles-based firm’s chief executive described the year as a “strong” one for the company

US pension cuts BlueBay emerging market fund despite strong 2017 returns
The State Universities Retirement System of Illinois has terminated BlueBay Asset Management as an emerging market debt manager

KKR considers switching from partnership to corporation
Global investment firm KKR is considering a change to its legal structure, with the firm’s senior management and board of directors currently evaluating whether to convert from a partnership to a corporation, or C-corp

Lazard announces 2017 earnings and considers C Corporation structure
Bermuda-headquartered Lazard is considering a ‘C Corporation’ structure, under which the corporation would be taxed separately from its owners

Hildene makes huge 2017 gains after wringing every drop from 1.0 CLOs
For the most part, 1.0 CLOs are on their last legs with very few pre-crisis deals outstanding – but one fund manager has made hugely profitable trades in this area

ICG increases fundraising goal as direct lending funds near full deployment
London-based Intermediate Capital Group has increased its fundraising target to €6 billion per year on a rolling three-year basis

So much capital, so few deals: specialists fear for direct lending
No covenants, increasing leverage ratios and an outlook for rising rates means that direct lending is not all it's cracked up to be, according to several credit market participants

Hurdle rates topple as direct lenders look to boost fees
Some direct lending managers are lowering their hurdle rates in a bid to increase their fees

Direct lending head says market is overheating
A 2018 outlook report by KKR suggests now’s the time to reduce exposure to direct lending. This comes as another part of KKR goes on a direct lending fundraising spree