Danish pension fund eyes niche credit opportunities
PensionDanmark is preparing for more volatility in 2019 by casting its eye towards niche opportunities in the special situations and distressed debt market. The Copenhagen-based pension fund last month merged its alternatives and private debt platforms

Californian pension reveals 2019 private credit plan
Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association is considering committing up to $80 million to private credit funds, following a recommendation of its investment consultant NEPC  

Belgian pension fund appoints JP Morgan to run allocations to alternative investments
Hydralis, the statutory pension manager of Belgium water utility Vivaqua, has appointed JP Morgan to manage the fund’s allocation to unlisted assets for an eight years period, Creditflux has learned.  

Italian manager launches fund for private debt opportunities
DeA Capital Alternative Funds, an Italian asset manager, has launched an alternatives fund to target global private debt investments, along with investments in private equity and infrastructure  

US pension backs Vista credit fund
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has approved a $50 million commitment to Vista Credit Partners Fund III, according to documents from the March board of trustees meeting  

UK pension allocates £900 million to four private debt managers
The £21.9 billion pension fund has awarded £900 million to three private debt managers and one real estate debt manager, according to 6 March board minutes

European regulators lower Solvency II capital charges for private debt
The European Commission has amended Solvency II rules to make it easier for insurance companies to invest in private debt and private equity

US pension fund earmarks $375 million for various credit strategies
Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (Mass PRIM) has committed $125 million to distressed, $100 million to aviation investments, while earmarking $150 million for structured credit    

Los Angeles pension to shortlist managers for private credit mandate
Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS) is set to short-listed six firms as semi-finalists as part of a $670 million private credit mandate.  

Danske hires PensionDanmark's alternative investment head
Danske Bank Asset Management has appointed a head of alternative investments

Italian pension fund seeks loan exposure through direct lending and large cap loan funds
Intesa Sanpaolo’s defined contribution pension scheme has issued a tender notice seeking senior secured loans and direct lending funds to invest in.  

Unlevered direct lending funds bring in first-time investors
Unlevered direct lending funds are particularly appealing to first-time investors and one of the biggest managers in the business has taken note of this

Swedish pension AMF replaces head of asset management
AMF has appointed a new head of asset management, effective from April  

Beechbrook completes £128 million first close for UK direct lending fund
The manager's second UK-focused sponsorless fund has gained the attention of British Business Bank 

East Sussex pension injects £60 million into real estate debt
East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF), the £3.3bn public pension fund, has decided to commit £60m to M&G Real Estate Debt VI Fund (RED VI).  

Texas pension commits $200 million to credit
Texas County and District Retirement System (TCDRS) has earmarked $200 million for investments in strategic credit and direct lending in 2019, according to board documents seen by Creditflux  

Private credit delivers strong returns for Finnish pension
Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER) has generated 12.4% from its private credit funds for 2018, according to its latest annual report  

Illiquid credit boost returns for PensionDanmark
PensionDanmark has generated 5.8% returns from its illiquid credit portfolio for the year 2018, according to its latest annual report published today. But its liquid credit portfolio took a 3.4% hit

AP4 keeps eye on direct unlisted investments, amid 2018 losses
AP4, the SEK 349.3 billion ($37.3 billion) pension fund, has lost 0.2% after costs from its entire portfolio for the year 2018  

Italian journo pension scheme presses ahead with plan to invest in private debt
The National Institute for Italian Journalists' Social Security (INPGI) has launched a tender notice seeking closed-ended private debt funds to invest in, or unlisted debt instruments including infrastructure debt, private corporate debt and real estate debt  

Allianz IM puts $200 million into Indian private debt
Allianz Investment Management has committed $200 million into the private debt platform of Edelweiss, an Indian diversified financial services firm.  

US pension seek real estate debt managers
The State Universities Retirement System (SURS) has launched a real assets investment search, seeking private core, private core plus, and private non-core real estate managers, on both debt and equity  

UK pension looks to take investment grade strategy global
UK pension fund National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) has issued a search for a global investment grade corporate bond manager

Italian foundation seeks new CIO to oversee pension pot
Rome-based foundation Fondazione Enasarco is searching for a new chief investment officer, following the departure of Robert Rausch  

Cairn Capital hires portfolio manager for CLO investments
Cairn Capital has hired a portfolio manager with sell-side and ratings agency experience to be responsible for CLO tranche investments