Green credit advocate launches research body
Stockholm-based portfolio manager and green credit advocate Ulf Erlandsson has today announced the launch of research body Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute (AFII)

European CLO portfolio overlap increases by 3%: S&P
European CLO portfolio overlap for new issue deals since mid-March has increased to 37.73%, according to a recent report by S&P, around 3% higher than the average of 36% for all European CLOs rated by S&P

Barclays increases European loan and CLO issuance forecasts
Barclays has increased its European leveraged loans issuance expectations due to “better than expected recovery in issuance from M&A and LBO activity”, while its European CLO 2020 issuance forecast increased to  €15 billion-€18 billion, up from a previous estimate of €12-15 billion

Private debt secondaries volume nosedives 81% in H1
Global private debt fund secondaries volume nosedived 81.8% during the first half of 2020 as the effects of coronavirus began to surface, according to a recently released report by Setter Capital

Governance has greatest impact on short-term changes in company valuation out of ESG factors, finds MSCI
Governance has more impact than environmental and social factors on company financial fundamentals and stock price in the short term, but ‘E’ and ‘S’ play their part over the long term, according to analysis from MSCI

Go for short-duration and high-end CLO paper, says JP Morgan
This year is shaping up to be nearly as weak for CLO new issuance as 2008, according to JP Morgan strategists, who recommend investors seek value in short duration double/triple A paper or in higher-tier triple/double B

CLO and distressed fund recovery disparity could grow, say Barclays
CLO investors should apply a haircut to the $55-60 loan recovery range to better estimate recoveries in CLO models, as the disparity between how distressed debt funds and CLOs extract value in a loan restructuring is expected to widen

Leveraged loan spreads to widen to March levels, warn UBS strategists
US leveraged loan spreads could widen back to March levels of 825 basis points as default risk increases, according to strategists at UBS.

Autos dominate in BofA €25 billion fallen angel watchlist
Downgrade impact for fallen angels in the coming months could be more extreme than during the 2008 financial crisis, Bank of America strategists have warned, as they identified €25 billion worth of debt at European investment grade companies most at risk of falling into high yield territory

US CLOs did not lose par in March, finds JP Morgan
A research paper from JP Morgan has estimated there was no US CLO par burn in March, although loss of par for the first quarter was 11%

CLO managers favour tech, cable and healthcare as loan downgrade fears dominate, finds JP Morgan
Picking safe sectors to buy in the coronavirus crisis is a tough call, but CLO managers variously favour technology, cable/satellite and healthcare, according to a JP Morgan survey. There is much more consensus on dumping autos, energy, gaming/lodging/leisure and retail

Sovereign borrowing will crowd out corps and produce fallen angels, warns BofA
Investors should be wary of buying coporate credit that yields less than sovereign debt, Bank of America strategists have warned, predicting €20-30 billion of European fallen angel volume lies ahead as the market cycle turns

Fed cut triggers Libor floors on third of US loans
Roughly a third of US loans effectively became fixed rate investments this week as Libor edged below 1% for the first time since January 2017

Hedge against coronavirus, says JP Morgan, naming 40 most exposed credits
With novel coronavirus cases rising at what looks to be an exponential rate, JP Morgan strategists have proposed a high yield hedge to address the rising threat to European credit spreads and listed 40 borrowers they think are most exposed to impact

Euro CLO volume could beat €25 billion consensus in 2020, says TwentyFour
Current spread tightening in Europe’s CLO market could boost issuance beyond the widely anticipated €25 billion for 2020, according to a note from TwentyFour Asset Management

Ratio of CLO managers adding risk falls to lowest level since 2009, JP Morgan finds
The proportion of CLO managers looking to add risk has fallen to its lowest level since 2009, according to a market survey carried out by JP Morgan’s research desk

CLO 2020 outlook: lower volumes predicted, but it’s not all bad news
US CLO issuance is expected to drop by roughly 20% next year, according to bank research desks. This comes after a solid 2019 in which $101 billion of new US CLOs have priced through 92 managers, as Creditflux goes to press

Investors increasingly see ESG as fiduciary duty, State Street survey reveals
North American investors are most likely to view ESG as a fiduciary duty, while European investors are driven by regulation, performance and reputational risk, according to results from a survey conducted by State Street Global Advisors

Central banks may consider ESG-compliant CLO paper, says Moody's
Central banks in Italy, the Netherlands, and France have begun integrating ESG into their investment process, a process which could reduce collateral refinancing risk of ESG compliant securitisations including CLOs, according to Moody’s

CLO supply set for double-digit drop in 2020, says JP Morgan
US CLO supply in 2020 will be as much as 20% down on 2019, while European issuance will fall 13% year-on-year, predict JP Morgan strategists in a research note. Even so, new CLOs should still outpace existing deal paydowns, as well as high yield primary market net new issuance

Diverging views emerge over performance of ESG investing, RBC survey reveals
Investors which incorporate ESG principles are convinced it adds value, but those who do not are more uncertain, according to a survey by RBC Global Asset Management 

Boeing/Airbus dogfight widens spreads as WTO ruling exposes Europe's trade weaknesses
The World Trade Organisation’s go-ahead for the US to impose $7.5 billion of tariffs on imports from the EU has sent credit spreads sharply wider. And, according to latest credit research from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, it exposes Europe’s “Achilles heel”

Political risk puts December in focus as CDS investors play index volatility
Selling implied volatility has been prominent among CDS investors since last month’s iTraxx and CDX index rolls, says BNP Paribas in a research piece, with December a popular point of focus for trades

18% of CLO managers priced their first deals post-January 2018, says Maples
Launching a new CLO management platform is ‘extremely difficult’ although the rewards appear to be worth the risks, according to new research from Maples Group

Go long CLO triple-A and pick cash bonds over CDS, says JP Morgan
Going long European CLO triple A paper remains one of JP Morgan strategists’ favourite trades following the European Central Bank stimulus announcement last week, despite these tranches having rallied 14bp on average since the bank first backed them. They also predict cash credit to outperform CDS