Beneath the triple C: 13 CLO loans take a dive but defaults subside to a ripple
22 corporate debt issuers were downgraded to triple C or below in November and December by Moody’s or S&P, out of which 13 can be found in CLO portfolios  – hurting $4.55 billion of US CLO loans, €1.87 billion of European CLO portfolios and almost $80 million of middle market CLOs loans, according to CLO-i

Moody's begins upgrading CLO tranches
Moody's began the gradual process of upgrading CLO tranches in December, ending on a more positive note a year which brought the biggest wave of tranche downgrades

CLO issuers flex their bond muscles
Some panellists at Creditflux’s US CLO Investor Summit pointed to structural difficulties, but the consensus was that flexibility — particularly the ability to buy bonds — could improve performance

CLO 2021 outlook: back to the 'old' normal with volumes, spreads and structures to revert to pre-covid levels
Predictions went out the window this year because, well, who in December 2019 could have foreseen a pandemic devastating lives and wrecking financial markets? But the emergence of vaccines to combat the threat of the coronavirus has spurred a rally in credit over the last month. And CLO researchers expect a resurgence in 2021 with US new issue CLO volumes predicted to hit the $80-110 billion range, according to reports analysed by Creditflux.

All’s well that ends well in 2020 OC tests
Swathes of CLOs failed over-collateralisation tests last year, but unlike the drawn-out recovery following the 2008 financial crisis, the return to compliance after the covid-19 crash was rapid 

Fund performance: CLOs look to continue recovery with end of the year in sight
CLO funds claim the majority of positions in our top 10

Ucits at a glance: Year-to-date returns head for double figures
Ucits funds generally performed well in October as 75% achieved positive returns

Credit funds at a glance (January 2021)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Credit hedge funds (January 2021)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Vaccine boosts credit as PE firms open up to bridge loans
The leveraged loan and CLO markets ended 2020 on a long-awaited high after multiple vaccines for covid-19 were rubber-stamped by regulators

Past returns: Barclays gambles and wins on Zohar
Five years ago in Creditflux, we reported how Barclays had made gains from its investment in the debt of Zohar CLO I, a deal which was filed into bankruptcy by manager Patriarch Partners a few months earlier

Equity investors call time on CSAM bond-flex CLOs
Two of Credit Suisse Asset Management’s three bond-flex CLOs were called by their equity investors in October, according to notices seen by Creditflux, despite both deals being within their reinvestment periods

Zombies demand brain work from tranche traders
Outperformance of junior tranches and underperformance of senior was the big theme in CDS index tranches going into December. But the picture began to change as Creditflux went to press

The right climate doesn’t guarantee a great bottle of wine. The skill of the winemaker is also vital
2020 could still turn out to be the best private credit vintage ever

All’s well that ends well in 2020 OC tests

Moody's considers upgrading 188 US CLO tranches
Moody's has put 188 CLO tranches from 114 US CLOs on review for possible upgrade, reversing an earlier policy in which the agency put large quantities of CLO notes on downgrade watch

Europe leads corporate credit rally, but US outperforms in CLOs
iTraxx Crossover has been the CDS market's outperformer this week, tightening over 30 basis points, or 11.4%, to trade at 235bp today. But in the CLO market, US deals have come out on top thanks to a BlackRock CLO that priced its double Bs at some of the tightest levels this year

Compression plays out as HY and European CLO double Bs outperform
Investment grade and high yield credit spreads have tightened in sync with each other this week, but CDS and CLOs alike underline that the big theme over the past month has been compression between investment grade and high yield

York axes European hedge funds and prioritises long duration assets as co-CIO leaves
York Capital Management has opted to axe its European hedge fund strategies and refocus on alternatives including CLOs amid a string of executive personnel changes

OC health check: 41 CLOs heal their breaches
147 CLOs breached an over-collateralisation test in October, down from 183 in September. 41 CLOs that breached an OC test in September passed all OC tests in October, most of which had October payment dates

Eagle Point bulks up on CLO equity
Eagle Point Credit Company deployed $35.1 million of its capital into CLO equity investments in the third quarter, buying $8.4 million in the secondary market and the remainder in primary, while selling just $4.8 million

Correction: JP Morgan shifts bulk of CLO portfolio to held to maturity
JP Morgan has shifted two thirds of its CLO portfolio to the 'held to maturity' part of its balance sheet, posting $31.15 billion worth of CLO holdings on 30 September of which $20.95 billion were held to maturity

Skybridge looks to cut structured credit and distressed debt exposure
SkyBridge Capital, the fund of hedge funds manager run by ex-White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, is set to curb the structured credit and distressed corporate debt exposure in its SkyBridge G II Fund

Relative value has shifted towards CLO double Bs, conference hears
CLO double B tranches are on course for significant spread tightening, according to participants on day one of Creditflux's CLO Investor Summit on Thursday

CDS indices edge wider and positive skew opens as Pershing Square puts on new hedge
Credit indices have widened a touch this week but they’re back in focus with reports that Pershing Square Capital Management, led by Bill Ackman, has this week used CDS indices to hedge parts of its equity portfolio