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

CSOs are hurting but will emerge stronger, say sources
It is unsurprising that bespoke synthetic tranches have suffered during the covid-19 crisis, as they are backed largely by real money investors that have gone outright long credit risk. But more noteworthy and reassuring, say sources, is that most have held firm in their positions and look set to stick with the asset class — in contrast to the 2008 global financial crisis exodus

Looming CLO downgrades will not force insurers to sell despite seven-point trading basis
Insurance companies are unlikely to be big sellers of CLO paper, despite the threat of mass downgrades as rating agencies last month put over 1,000 global CLO tranches on negative watch

CLO managers seek to defer and redirect equity distributions
Half of US CLOs are due to miss equity payments as downgrades and defaults resulting from the lockdown economy trigger overcollateralisation breaches across the market, according to the latest bank research estimates. But some managers are being granted the flexibility to redeploy cash

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”

Flex CLOs tap mass downgrades to fill big triple C buckets
CLO managers are being hampered by the sheer volume of corporate credit downgrades to triple C, leaving the small cluster of triple C-flex CLOs to capitalise

Creditflux announces finalists for online CLO awards
Creditflux is pleased to announce the finalists for a new-look manager awards event, which will be hosted online for the first time.

Past returns: Death by triple Cs? A step too far
15 months ago in Creditflux we reported that corporate credit downgrades, rather than defaults, were the biggest problem facing CLO portfolio managers

Points up front: Liquidating CLO can’t escape Standard & Poor’s
With over 1,000 CLO tranches on watch across the big three rating agencies, it’s good to see rigorous standards are being maintained and little things like CLO liquidation are not excusing deals from detailed scrutiny

Managers vie for trophies at new-look awards event
The 2020 Creditflux Manager Awards will take on a fresh complexion as we transition to a virtual event. But some things will never change: our finalists have been assessed using data alone
 

Credit pickers need luck to avoid OC trap
We know what you’re thinking: is my CLO failing its OC test? The truth is, in all this volatility, it can be hard to keep track, unless your deal has high quality liquid loans

 

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

Correction: Orchard Liquid Credit Fund performance
In the May issue of the Creditflux magazine we incorrectly stated in our performance tables the year-to-date return for Orchard Liquid Credit Fund, which is up 10.66%

Invesco suffers Moody's downgrade after struggling to delever balance sheet
Moody's has downgraded Invesco Ltd from A2 to A3 citing the "challenges Invesco has faced delevering its balance sheet following the acquisition of Oppenheimer Funds", the rating agency said in a notice

'Nochu covenant' leaves big CLO managers in a trading bind
Stipulations pushed into CLOs by the world’s largest CLO investor Norinchukin to limit its exposure to covenant-lite loans are causing headaches for managers on its approved list hoping to use the dislocation to build par  

CLOs hold $189.3 million of J Crew as coronavirus pushes firm into bankruptcy
12 CLO managers hold $189.3 million debt of US retailer and household name J Crew (parent company Chino Holdings), which filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Monday

Apollo earmarks $20 billion for dislocation fundraising over 12 months
Apollo's returns for corporate credit, structured credit and direct origination in the first quarter were down 8.3%, 14.7% and 4.8%, respectively, but the firm is looking to launch various credit strategies, including capital solutions, dislocation strategies and distressed strategies, that it “expects to accumulate $20 billion over the next year”

94% of S&P-rated single B CLOs at risk of downgrade as 48 tranches join watchlist
Standard & Poor's has added a further 48 CLO tranches to its creditwatch negative list

Strong structures benefit mid market CLO structures despite lack of government support
April was a brutal month for the broadly syndicated loan-backed CLO market, with swathes of deals breaching their overcollateralisation limits. But sources say their middle market counterparts could be better placed to weather the storm if the coronavirus crisis escalates

Credit pickers need luck to avoid OC trap

Carlyle defers $4 million CLO sub fees after loan downgrades
Carlyle Group deferred $4 million CLO subordinated fees in the first quarter, as a result of rating downgrades across the industry, the firm's quarterly earnings call revealed