AI blockbuster deals surge as Middle East conflict test dealmaker confidence
Mergermarkets M&A Highlights 1Q26: Global M&A volume jumped 22% to the second highest start ever

2026 kicks off with a lot of thunder and not much lightning
ANALYSIS: A lot of noise around geopolitics, Fed interference and market volatility has had little effect on the global CLO market, for now  

Pemberton reorganizes, appoints new private credit leaders
The firm’s chief credit officer is leaving at the end of March, the company said

Morgan Stanley loses head of direct lending and co-head of North America private credit
EXCLUSIVE: the head of direct lending had also served as co-head of North America Private Credit at Morgan Stanley Investment Management; bank assigns new head  

17Capital raises USD 5.5bn for NAV lending to private funds
The alternative credit firm claims its 17Capital Strategic Lending Fund 6 is the largest NAV lending fund seen in the market to date

PAG raises USD 1.25bn for significant risk transfers
The Hong Kong-based alternative asset manager is expecting the SRT market to grow at a 30% to 40% rate annually over the next few years

Banks predict record-breaking year ahead
Consensus figures generated from outlook reports by five banks suggest 2025 will be another strong year for CLO issuance. But last year, their estimates were well below the actual numbers

This time around, BlackRock will be poised to be a shaper of the move
USD 12bn seems a lot to pay for HPS. But BlackRock urgently needed to catch up in private credit

SMBC swoops in to take JPMorgan’s CLO leadership
In one of the most dramatic moves the CLO market has ever seen, SMBC Nikko has swooped in and hired three of the most senior members of JPMorgan’s CLO leadership team

Nuveen Private Capital taps Ares partner for private wealth distribution
The platform encompassing Churchill Asset Management and Arcmont Asset Management, has hired Moshe Bajnon for the newly created position of global head of private wealth

SRT market grows to EUR 18.5bn of junior tranches in 2023
Banks executed 89 synthetic securitizations for SRT globally in 2023, according to the IACPM’s latest synthetic securitization survey

AXA wins USD 400m for SRT strategy from US pension fund
The growing global demand for SRT transactions was confirmed yesterday with an announcement from AXA IM Alts that it had been awarded a USD 400m investment mandate from a US pension fund

The Last Tranche with Christine Ferris
In the latest edition of The Last Tranche podcast we talked to JP Morgan’s global head of CLO primary Christine Ferris about why she loves working with debut managers, despite the extra challenges they face coming to market.

How many CLOs will be reset?
Tightening liability spreads aren’t just driving record new CLO issuance this year — they’re also triggering a wave of resets and refinancings in the US, especially for broadly syndicated CLOs

Carlyle's head of direct lending departs
Carlyle's Head of Direct Lending has left the firm to pursue other opportunities, according to a company memo

Banks predict steady year ahead
It’s the season for predictions and the CLO market is no exception, with all the banks having their say. We’ve rounded up their forecasts for new issuance and resets in the US and Europe

European CLOs win out against US deals
Last month, our analysis explored the performance of US CLOs that were previously reset. We found that they delivered higher distributions than deals which weren’t reset, with the exception of the 2017 and 2018 vintages (Creditflux September 2023 — Do resets help CLOs perform better?). This article expands that analysis to the European market, and compares the performance of US BSL and EU CLO equity tranches.

Trepp launches new CLO data service
Trepp, a New York-based data provider, has launched a new leveraged loan and corporate CLO analysis database called TreppCLO

CLO rankings: manager AUM, advisory firm and trustees Q1 2023
Two acquisitions close to shake up the top and Dechert takes early lead over Milbank in manager counsel rankings

Board aims to grant Blackstone fund ability to invest directly in primary CLOs
The board of publicly traded fund Blackstone Loan Financing is proposing to amend its investment policy to allow it to directly invest in primary CLO opportunities, following the results of its shareholder consultation announced today.  Changes to NAV valuation methodology alongside various potential exit opportunities was also discussed.

Sound Point holding CLO M&A talks which could catapult it to fifth-largest manager
Sound Point Capital Management is locked in talks with a large, global CLO manager over a deal that could take its CLO AUM north of $36 billion

Manager looks to cut HY exposures in CLO-heavy credit interval fund
A credit fund manager has provided a performance update on is multi-strategy closed-end credit fund through regulatory filings, revealing it has beat its benchmark from 1 April to 30 September despite losing 13.66%

Schroders hires COO for securitised products and CLO investments team
Schroders Capital has made a senior hire from Lloyds Bank to the newly-created role of chief operating officer of its global securitised credit team

Sona rolls out event-driven and bespoke financing fund to US investors
Sona Asset Management is courting investors in the US for its second capital solutions strategy, having filed an offering of the fund with the Securities & Exchange Commission

Founder of Alcentra's structured credit business to step down as PM
A long-time CLO tranche investor is set to move away from day-to-day portfolio management duties and take on a new role as senior advisor