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

Fund performance: A third of funds reach positive territory in 2020
August has been another successful month for the CLO category as seven of the top 10 funds invest primarily in CLOs

Direct Lending Perspectives: fundraising takes a hit
European direct lending funds raised just €2.6 billion over the second quarter, according to European Direct Lending Perspectives, the joint report from Creditflux and Debtwire. This is down from the €11.3 billion of capital raised in Q2 2019

Fallen angels and financials feel heat as CDS indices roll
CDS indices are rolling into new contracts today, with outgoing series of iTraxx Europe and Crossover widening sharply from the market’s open on technical as well as fundamental factors

Blackstone reveals CLO originator NAV was understated for four months
Blackstone says the net asset value of class A units in its privately-offered CLO originator were understated between 31 March and 30 June

Dach mid-market lending is 'back to business', GCA Altium survey reveals
Mid-market lenders in the German-speaking region appear to be back to business, with around 90% of banks and debt funds open to evaluate new financing opportunities, according to a September survey by GCA Altium

Dislocation and costly payment debacle highlight loan tech lag
Coronavirus-led dislocation in the leveraged loan market, as well as a bank’s recent claims of human error in making a large loan payment, underscore the industry’s need to embrace long-overdue efficiency improvements

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

Ucits at a glance: Five funds lift YTD returns above 5%
Five funds have managed to pull their year to date figures above 5%; Loomis Sayles (7.50%), Algebris (5.82%), Pictet (5.53%), Amundi (5.36%) and Advent (5.11%)

Fund performance: Almost a third of credit funds reach positive YTD returns
July has been a successful month for many credit funds, despite the recovery peaking in May and June

CLO funds top rankings, but still have ground to make up
CLOs may have taken a hammering in March but, for the fourth consecutive month, funds that invest in these assets dominate our ranking of the top performing credit funds

Axa IM fund drops in July as it seeks call on non-paying 2013 CLO
Volta Finance, a publicly listed CLO fund managed by Axa Investment Managers, was down 1.2% in July (after its 11 cents per share dividend payment) due to US dollars depreciating against euros by 4.6% during the month, Axa said in the fund's monthly update

Fund performance: Credit funds post double-digit gains
June returns have once again been led by CLO funds, as seven out of the top 10 belong to our CLOs category.

Ucits at a glance: Ucits funds march on and erase Q1 losses
95% of Ucits credit funds listed with Creditflux posted positive returns in June to keep up the momentum from May when all but one fund was in positive territory

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

New funds move in as tranche trades take off
Synthetic structured credit funds are proving popular with investors amid a spike in index tranche trading

Covid could trigger 'mega trend' into private debt, says Blackstone's Gray
The coronavirus pandemic could spark a 'mega trend' of investors into alternatives in private credit, Blackstone's president and chief operating officer said on the firm's second quarter earnings call on Thursday

Swedish fund nears public listing after big gains on CLO and tranche trades
Stockholm-based Ymer SC is moving forward with plans to list its structured credit fund on the Nordic Growth Market exchange in Sweden

Fair Oaks resumes dividends on listed CLO fund
Fair Oaks Capital will resume paying dividends on its listed fund Fair Oaks Income Fund

Credit Rendezvous: record fiscal stimulus provides pick-me-up
Credit markets had a mini bounce-back in the second quarter as central banks poured cash into the economy. But there is great uncertainty about the effects of a second wave of coronavirus. As part of our quarterly report on credit - the Credit Rendezvous - Creditflux spoke to experts across 12 segments of the credit market

Fund performance: CLO funds keep up the momentum for second month running
May returns have been led by continued momentum from CLO funds. In the last month, funds that invest in CLO notes in some capacity have made up 90% of our top 10, while 97% of funds listed generated positive returns - an improvement of 15% on last month's figures.

Ucits at a glance: Ucits recover lost ground
The foot has come off the gas for many funds - 57% of funds did not break the 2% return barrier.

US and Europe diverge as loan trading bands emerge on the continent
Europe and the US are on different courses with credit indices having drifted apart over the past month, say trading sources. Europe is expected to suffer fewer defaults to the extent that "it’s getting quite difficult for borrowers to default”, as one source put it. But the US has "higher growth potential due to its more dynamic economy"

Algebris leads monthly returns in new world matrix
Algebris Macro Credit's return submission for May was among the best non-CLO/ABS fund performers out of those Creditflux tracks, adding to a strong turnaround for the strategy

Fair Oaks tops up on double B CLO tranches in May
Fair Oaks topped up on double B-rated CLO tranches in its listed CLO fund in May, adding $79 million par value of BB-rated paper