Fund performance: European CLO funds lead the way
February was a positive month for many funds, as only one quarter failed to reach the black. This builds off a stellar start to the year: 96% of funds reached a positive return in January

Citi structured credit specialist leaves after 15 years
A key figure in Citi’s European structured credit business since 2007 has joined Julius Baer as head of corporate finance advisory

Axa IM launches multi-strat fund for pensions
Axa Investment Managers’ ‘alternatives’ business has launched an open-ended strategy for pension funds

Fund performance: Déjà vu as April leaders dominate
CLO funds stayed in the top flight for another month as they took over the top 10 credit hedge fund return table in May, when 87% of all funds listed made positive returns

DWS and Tikehau target UK pensions with multi-strategy credit fund
The new fund will invest in CLOs, ABS, private debt, leveraged loans, infrastructure debt and real estate debt

Goldman prints infrastructure debt-backed CLO for London and Seoul-based firms
Goldman Sachs has issued a $233.3 million CLO designed to finance infrastructure projects. The deal, named Sequoia Infrastructure Funding I, names London-based Sequoia Investment Management Company as investment advisor and Seoul-headquarterd Shinhan Alternative Investment Management as collateral manager

LP round up: $2.8 billion flows to credit as Apollo concedes fundraising may slow
Florida Retirement System Trust Fund made the largest commitments allocating $1.6 billion. Apollo meanwhile acknowledged a potential slowdown in fundraising as investors await results on an independent review into CEO Leon Black's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

Credit fundraising: Dubai manager gets in on the act as direct lending takes off
Shuaa launches credit fund in the Gulf as Ares, Contingency, HPS and Perceptive are among those to close billion-plus funds

US CRE CLO growth spurt encourages Europeans
The US CRE CLO market hit a record $19.2 billion in 2019 and sources say that a first ever European deal will be issued this year. They cite the growing commercial mortgage direct lending market on the continent as laying the foundations for a European CRE CLO.

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

Credit drives strong returns for five of the largest asset managers in the business
Carlyle is close to hitting its ambitious fundraising target; direct lending has been kind to Ares; and Och-Ziff has decided to shed its US CLO risk retention stakes after exiting its financing agreements

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