Weighted average life divides CLO industry
Creditflux’s second CLO Census reveals stark differences of opinion on weighted average life and par-flush for US CLOs. But there is a clear consensus on which bank is best at CLO execution

There is an opportunity for investors able to look beyond the typical fixed income asset classes
Real money investors need to be aware of the merits of investment grade CLO tranches over similarly rated corporate debt, says our columnist Thomas Majewski

Credit drives strong returns for five of the largest asset managers in the business
Carlyle is close to hitting its ambitious fundraising target; direct lending has been kind to Ares; and Och-Ziff has decided to shed its US CLO risk retention stakes after exiting its financing agreements

Past returns: LMCG and Trump
In Creditflux five years ago we reported on LMCG Investments (then known as Serenitas Capital) generating strong returns after spinning out of Bank America Merrill Lynch.

Points up front: BlueGreen OneTreeHill United, the CLO team
Inspired by Serhan Seçmen’s keynote address at Creditflux’s CLO Symposium in May, we’ve come up with a World XI of CLO managers.

Experienced CSAM holds off boutiques to win biggest prize
Credit Suisse Asset Management became a two-time winner of the Creditflux Manager of the Year award last month after picking up the 2018 trophy in front of a packed house at London’s Landmark Hotel on 9 May

They said it: “Occam’s razor, the marshmallow test and the Pareto principle – what do they have in common?”
The simplest solution is often the best solution, delayed gratification and the 80/20 rule; these can all be used in the assessment of CLO manager performance

CSAM wins Creditflux Manager of the Year award for a second time
From two guys and a Bloomberg to being named the best manager in the credit industry: Credit Suisse Asset Management wins big at the 2018 Creditflux Manager Awards

CLO performance is faltering – a loans shock would help
Early CLO 2.0s benefited from wide loan spreads. Today, that arbitrage opportunity has closed and returns have gradually diminished – yet there are now similarities to the market in 2007

CLOs aren’t as similar as you might think
Almost 70% of some managers’ portfolios overlap with those of their competitors. But the average overlap is around 35% so there’s plenty of room for managers to express their preferred strategies
 

Tracking down the credit industry’s original winners
All winning managers at the first Creditflux awards survived the crisis, under their own names – like BlackRock – or under new owners. But what happened to the people who collected the trophies?
 

Structured credit specialists seek future-proofing in direct lending
At the turn of the last credit cycle, structured credit recovered spectacularly – but credit managers today seem to be gravitating towards private credit as the area to pick up excess returns in a downturn

CSAM in contention for US and European CLO honours
Credit Suisse Asset Management, CVC Credit Partners, Spire Partners and Sound Point Capital Management are among the CLO managers that have secured multiple finalists positions at this year’s Creditflux Manager Awards

CLO managers give blessing to Morningstar
“Our methodology is extremely transparent and our turnaround is extremely quick" - Morningstar's Brian Grow describes the company's ascension into the CLO market

Join the debate: flippin' heck, you're distorting the CLO market
After our report on a CLO investor flipping 2018 bonds before the deals had even closed, one reader pointed out that this "masks true demand"

Carlyle group's solid Q4 results include $1.7 billion of global credit fundraising
The firm’s fourth quarter global credit fundraising of $1.7 billion included four CLOs, follow-on closes in their new private BDCs, structured credit fund, and managed accounts

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

Vintage deals revived as CLO equity investors buy, refi, reset and repeat
US CLOs are being reworked time and again as investors look to reset deals that have previously been refinanced

Managers predict skill will win out
We asked managers to predict the year ahead across a range of credit strategies. Overall, they had a positive outlook. By Grace Jennings-Edquist

Who predicted $145 billion of issuance?
That went better than expected: US risk retention came in, and $145 billion of global new issuance later, it’s clear that CLOs aren’t disappearing. By Tanvi Gupta and Sam Robinson

Citi finds that triple A investors should look at short-dated CLO resets over refis
Citi's credit research team has put together a report assessing how US CLO triple A tranches are pricing relative to their inherent refinancing risk.

US league tables: CBAM tops US CLO rankings after meteoric rise
Just over a year ago, New York-based CBAM Partners commenced operations amid much fanfare. Fast forward 12 months and the asset manager has delivered on its promise, with Creditflux data showing that the firm was the largest CLO issuer of 2017

Investors crystallise gains through liquidations
Refinancings and resets have dominated 2017, but CLO equity investors have found other ways to make strong returns

Fitch rating outlook: CLO spread compression to continue in 2018
Spreads on new broadly syndicated loan (BSL) CLO notes rated AAA down to BBB will be further squeezed in 2018