Tranche trading is back: relative value plays power growth
Synthetic bespoke and index tranche markets are shifting through the gears and accelerating, say investors, as an increasing prevalence of relative value trading strategies evoke dreams of the products returning to pre-financial crisis glory.

Credit traders' kickstand: synthetic credit leads the way as spreads swoop on dovish wings
Dovish comments by the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve, along with thin bond issuance, contributed to a pronounced rally this week in credit market. But a nervy week may lie ahead as suspense grows before G20 summit talks between the US and China next Friday and Saturday

New manager Resco lands ex-credit head to found advisory board
Resco Asset Management, a London based asset manager set up last year, has appointed the first of an anticipated three advisory board members

Isda tables plans to rid CDS market of narrowly tailored credit events
After lengthy deliberation, a working group of major firms is today set to publish proposals aimed at ridding the market of ‘narrowly tailored credit events’, whereby borrowers are persuaded to default on debt payments in order to trigger pay-outs for CDS holders

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

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

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

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

Hermes launches £185 million unconstrained credit fund
London-based Hermes Investment Management has launched a new Ucits-compliant unconstrained credit fund - which will include pricing ESG risks

Join the debate: most memorable moment in credit
At Creditflux we’ve now produced 200 monthly magazines since Fishknife first came up with the idea of tracking the global credit markets in 2001). We asked several key credit industry officials about their most memorable moment in credit

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

Fund platform AMX eyeballs credit funds
Willis Towers Watson’s hedge fund platform has grown to $1.5 billion – and there is space for credit managers  

Things aren’t always what they seem
Buy CLO triple As but don’t be fooled by diversity scores; take a look at credit index futures if you need liquidity; and watch out for quasi-mid market loans appearing in CLOs