Chicago manager holds initial close for $1 billion private credit fund
Monroe Capital has held a $348 million initial close for its third private credit fund, which has a $1 billion hard cap, market sources say

Buoyed by four credit fund closes, Brookfield grows AUM by $35 billion in 2017
Toronto-based property manager Brookfield Asset Management has described 2017 as a “very successful” year characterised by strong fundraising for real assets, as well as significantly increased net income and funds from operations

AB names fixed income co-heads and replaces Ashish Shah on two funds
Following the departure of Ashish Shah, who was AB's head of fixed income and chief investment officer, Will Smith has been appointed co-manager on two bond funds. Meanwhile, the firm has named two co-heads of fixed income

Credit Suisse reports annual loss - but insists it's on the mend
Credit Suisse has reported an annual loss for 2017 – posting a full year net loss attribute to shareholders of CHF983 million ($1.05 billion) in its earnings release today

Virginia pension fund cuts Oaktree high yield account
Virginia Retirement System (VRS) has terminated Oaktree as a high yield debt manager, Creditflux has learnt

Cleveland multi-boutique announces pricing of its IPO
Victory Capital, which provides offerings including separately managed accounts, collective trusts, mutual funds, ETFs and UMA/SMA vehicles, announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 11.7 million shares of its Class A common stock at a public offering price of $13.00 per share

JP Morgan AM confirms new lower-cost share class on emerging market fund
JP Morgan Asset Management is introducing a new share class with lower pricing for its JPM Emerging Markets Income fund

KKR considers switching from partnership to corporation
Global investment firm KKR is considering a change to its legal structure, with the firm’s senior management and board of directors currently evaluating whether to convert from a partnership to a corporation, or C-corp

Octagon looks to invest up to $500 million in CLOs with new fund
New York-based Octagon Credit Investment is raising money for its third CLO opportunity fund, according to recent SEC filings

Texas pension fund commits $100 million to distressed debt fund
Texas County and District Retirement System has committed $100 million to a Connecticut-based fund manager

HSBC announces $550 million second close for diversified loan fund
HSBC Alternative Investments has announced the second close of its diversified loan fund, which will combine both loan investing and direct lending

CIFC moves into US high yield with unique long/short credit strategy
US high yield credit is hardly top of the agenda for fund managers at the moment, but CIFC Asset Management is taking a two-pronged approach to building out a new business line in this area

Demand for IG outweighs HY as US credit manager launches two funds
A west coast asset manager has launched a high yield strategy and an investment grade fund. The IG option has been more popular thus far

So much capital, so few deals: specialists fear for direct lending
No covenants, increasing leverage ratios and an outlook for rising rates means that direct lending is not all it's cracked up to be, according to several credit market participants

Direct lending head says market is overheating
A 2018 outlook report by KKR suggests now’s the time to reduce exposure to direct lending. This comes as another part of KKR goes on a direct lending fundraising spree

Direct lender Madison announces new CEO
Chicago-based Madison Capital Funding, a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, has announced a CEO successor to step into the role mid-2018

Bill Barr steps down from Och-Ziff board as firm's new CEO is named
Och-Ziff has named a new chief executive officer to succeed Dan Och, with the firm announcing today that former Credit Suisse executive Robert Shafir will step into the position

Tennenbaum opens new Atlanta office and makes two senior hires
Tennenbaum Capital Partners (TCP) opens new Atlanta office following the strong demand for direct lending 

JP Morgan AM launches new multi-asset investment trust
A manager's best mate is its fund: JP Morgan AM launches Multi-Asset Trust (Mate)

SSGA reports healthy income and AUM boost in Q4 2017
In its earnings release yesterday, Boston-headquartered State Street Global Advisors reported a rise in net income to $687 million for fourth quarter 2017, up from $648 a year earlier – a 19.1% increase

US mid-market earnings grow 12.8% in Q4 2017, up from 4.9% in Q3
Earnings in the US middle market grew by 12.8% in fourth quarter 2017, while overall revenue grew by 11.5% during September and October 2017, according to a Golub report

Crestline targets up to $500 million for new portfolio financing fund
Credit specialist Crestline Investors is launching a new fund to provide financing solutions to mature private equity funds, according to documents seen by Creditflux

Oak Hill appoints sole head of European credit as ex-partner takes on new role
One of Oak Hill Advisors’ most senior staffers has stepped into a senior advisory role

Ironwood raises at least $162 million for new mezz fund
Connecticut-based Ironwood Capital has raised in excess of $162 million for its latest mezzanine fund – Ironwood Mezzanine Fund IV, according to recent SEC filings.