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

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

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

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"

Beneath the triple C: downgrade rate slows as $8 billion of CLO loans tumble
May offered some respite to CLO portfolios as corporate downgrades to triple C were reduced heavily - affecting just $6.67 billion of US CLO paper and €1.09 billion of European CLO portfolios

Pandemic underlines importance of the S in ESG as compliant companies outperform
For years, assessing environmental risks has been at the forefront of ESG (environmental, social, governance) investing, but there’s been a greater appreciation of the ‘S’ in ESG since the market sell-off in March

There will surely be jewels in the high yield dung heap, but the risk-reward is more compelling in IG
Whatever the long-term effects of the pandemic, one thing stays the same: IG looks attractive

Fund performance: CLO tranches move up
April returns managed a partial bounce back after a tumultuous March. 82% of funds listed in the Creditflux database made positive returns, showing at least small signs of recovery after 90% of all funds listed posted negative returns in March

Ucits at a glance: Ucits begin recovery phase
April returns prove positive for Ucits funds as 85% of those listed in the Creditflux database have moved into the black after a rough March

Bond flex CLOs makes rapid MVOC recovery to underline evolution from CBOs
Bond flex CLOs, much like regular CLOs, are feeling the pain from March's sell off, but they have made a swift recovery

JC Penney bankruptcy weighs on CLO and CDX HY baskets
CLO managers hold nearly $250 million of the debt of JC Penney, which filed for chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on Friday

Sculptor doubles global credit exposure in master fund amid dislocation
Sculptor Capital Management has doubled its global credit exposure in its Master Fund during the covid-19 volatility, according to the firm’s Q1 earnings call

KKR takes covid-19 hit on flagship credit funds and lev fin
KKR took a 16% hit to returns on its alternative credit flagship funds amid the first quarter coronavirus downturn and a 13% loss on leveraged credit, taking these into negative territory for the last 12 months. The firm's private equity portfolio also slumped by 12%

Ares raises $3 billion special situations fund ahead of huge European direct lending launch
Ares Management has witnessed “accelerated fundraising” for its special situations fund, which it has closed at around $3 billion, according to the firm’s earnings calls. The firm also launched its fifth European direct lending fund this week, which Ares expects could be “the largest private comingled fund in its history”

Credit hedge fund returns: March 2020 stats
Monthly performance across credit hedge funds

Fund performance: Index tranche investors make it work from home
March brought a drastic drop in return figures as covid-19 swept across the globe, as Orchard tops the Creditflux performance tables

Ucits at a glance: Long-short credit capitalises on coronavirus
Ucits funds were not spared from the crash in mid-March, but Pictet outperforms