Ares grows credit 34% with direct lending boost, but high yield takes rough ride in Q4
Ares Management Corporation reported strong returns for its European direct lending strategies in the fourth quarter of 2018. But the firm's overall revenues slumped and its US loan funds and high yield strategies were hit by the volatile credit market 

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

Retail fund pain is a CLO manager’s gain
Retail funds dumped loans in record volumes late in 2018, creating ideal conditions for CLOs to capitalise with performing credits available in the mid-90s for the first time in years

Dealers gear up to settle Sears CDS and rule on Ziggo successor
The long wait to settle the final price of Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp credit default swaps will end today with a credit event auction, while investors could also learn whether there is successor to contracts referencing deregistered Ziggo Bond Finance

Credit spread improvement is calm before the storm, warn strategists
European and US credit markets have begun 2019 with a more buoyant tone than they ended 2018, but strategists warn that bearish factors still outweigh and suggest the overall direction of spreads this year is likely to be wider

US regulation drives insurance money towards credit ETFs
Institutional investors are increasingly allocating to credit exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but their motivations are changing. These vehicles are famed for their liquidity, but several investors are said to be pouring money into them for the long term amid regulatory changes which have made ETF investments more favourable

GSO co-founder plans new credit business
GSO Capital Partners co-founder Tripp Smith is launching his own credit management firm, according to a report by Bloomberg

Cash-CDS basis set for comeback after "falling knife" mishap, predicts BNP Paribas
The beginning of 2019 should revive interest among credit investors to trade the basis between cash bonds and credit default swaps, according to BNP Paribas strategists – following what they term “falling knife” dynamics in this year’s fourth quarter

Crossover converges on CDX HY as Fed, earnings and heavy technicals take hold
Big moves of single name credits continue to hold sway over the iTraxx Europe Crossover credit default swap index, whose underperformance of US counterpart CDX HY has extended during the past week amid a big technical repositioning of flows

Credit sell-off has room to run and pricing is out of whack, says BNP Paribas
The credit market sell-off could have further to go despite recent widening and is “in the process of a late-stage business cycle unwind”, according to a strategist note seen by Creditflux

European CDS index tightens inside US even as bonds languish
Credit derivatives markets have hit a key point of trend reversal this week, with the iTraxx Europe five-year CDS index trading inside its US counterpart CDX IG for the first time since May

Ares ups its target for US senior direct lending growth to $4.7 billion
Following $5 billion of inflows into global direct lending in the third quarter, Ares has upped the target for its US direct lending strategy 

LSTA asks for return of CLO bond buckets as part of Volcker reform
The Loan Syndication and Trading Association is advocating the return of high yield bond baskets within US CLO portfolios in what could be another sign of the shackles being loosened on CLO regulation in the US

Pimco launches latest ESG-focused credit offering
Pimco has launched its latest environmental, social and governance (ESG) fixed income offering - GIS Global Investment Grade Credit ESG Fund.

BlackRock becomes latest manager to explore interval fund structure for credit
Several managers have hit the market with the interval fund structure, as investors look to invest in illiquid strategies through an illiquid fund structure

Loan market finds balance as spreads edge wider
New issue volumes were robust in July with relatively few loan refinancings getting done. Loan portfolio managers say the loan market is finally balanced, having been in favour of borrowers

Partners Group promotes Layton to co-CEO as Rubeli steps down
Partners Group has announced that David Layton, partner and head of private equity, will succeed Christoph Rubeli as the firm’s co-chief executive officer, effective 1 January 2019

Swedish pension fund's credit portfolio recovers with strong 2018 results
Andra AP-Fonden (AP2), the SEK 352.4 billion ($38.7 billion) state-owned pension fund, generated 5.6% absolute returns from non-domestic credit investments for the first half of 2018

Star names join Barclays as it pushes into CLOs

Investors gain upper hand in doc negotiations

Invesco to convert Canadian bond fund into global credit strategy
The new Invesco Active Multi-Sector Credit Fund will have a global multi-sector approach

Aircraft lessors: gathering clouds lead to talk of turbulence
Aircraft leasing companies have been cruising over the past two years as passenger numbers grew, but rising interest rates and trade tariff concerns are making some bondholders nervous

Managers spot opportunity as leveraged loans soften
An abundance of US leveraged loan issuance helped soften secondary prices even though the overall market is highly bid. Meanwhile, investors’ preference for floating rate paper hit high yield

Neuberger's Dyal acquires minority stake in HPS
Dyal Partners, a division of Neuberger Berman, has acquired a minority equity stake in global credit manager HPS Investment Partners

Alcentra appoints Rajguru as global chief investment officer as Hatfield retires
Alcentra has appointed Vijay Rajguru as global chief investment officer effective 2 July 2018, a spokesperson for the company has confirmed to Creditflux, following Paul Hatfield's decision to retire from the firm at the end of the year