Santander issues SRT referencing Spanish SME loans
Banco Santander has issued a significant risk transfer referencing a €3 billion portfolio of loans

Cairn teams with Mediobanca for European credit Ucits fund
The strategy will focus on four credit asset classes - financials, corporates, asset-backed securities and special opportunities 

Jefferies subsidiary and Stonyrock plan mid-market alternative manager stake acquisitions
The new joint venture will invest in private equity, credit, hedge funds, real estate, venture, and infrastructure firms

Connection hires from Invesco for head of funds role
London's Connection Capital has named Lorna Robertson as the firm’s new head of funds

Texas pension fund creates new credit bucket
The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has approved a 3% opportunistic credit allocation, according to documents from an investment advisory committee meeting in March seen by Creditflux  

It’s going to be a credit picker’s market
Our panel of experts believe that the credit market will be volatile this year, but there will be opportunities in European credit and additional tier one bonds, trups CDOs and unitranches

Orchard wraps up fundraising for $2.5 billion structured credit and special opportunities fund
Orchard Global Asset Management has held a $2.5 billion final close for its structured credit and special opportunities fund,

Majority of investors seek to increase private credit allocations, BlackRock survey reveals
Over half of investors plan to increase their allocation to private credit in 2019, according to an institutional client rebalancing report published by BlackRock

Abax targets $400 million for Asian structured credit fund
Abax Global Capital has launched its third Asian-focused structured private credit fund - Abax Asian Structured Private Credit Fund III, according to US regulatory filings

Spanish bank prices €972 million SRT with triple As paying 31bp
Cajamar Caja Rural, based in southern Spain, has priced a €972.1 million significant risk transfer (SRT), according to market sources

Blackstone builds on multi-asset approach with fifth fund
The new vehicle will invest directly into Blackstone deals across its alternatives platform

Recent CLO debutant Vista brings in GSO official to lead credit team
Vista Credit Partners has hired a former GSO official to lead its credit team

Missouri pension plan seeks alternatives consultant
The $8.2 billion Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS) is seeking an alternative investment consultants

California pension fund seeks opportunistic credit manager
Merced County Employees’ Retirement Association is on the search for an opportunistic credit manager, according to board minutes seen by Creditflux

Managers see growth in distressed and direct lending, but structured credit splits opinion
The private credit industry remains on track to grow to $1 trillion assets under management by 2020, according to joint research published by the Alterative Credit Council and law firm Dechert with allocations to distressed and mid-market deals tipped to rise. But structured credit has divided US and European managers

Pimco generates listed opportunistic energy credit fund
Pimco is eyeing the energy sector for a new opportunistic credit fund, according to US regulatory filings.

White & Case promotes seven debt specialists to partner
The law firm has promoted several debt specialists to partners around the world

August: fund performance
CLO spreads jumped wider in August, but funds that invest in these assets have been able to outperform

September: credit funds at a glance
White Oak Global Advisors held a $2.1 billion final close on a new direct lending fund, while Phil Raciti's move from CVC Credit Partners to Halcyon Capital Management was one of the biggest moves in the credit industry

M&G targets £250 million for UK-listed multi-strategy credit fund
M&G is targeting £250 million (£328.6 million) for a new closed-end investment trust, which will be listed in the UK

Cairn adds to its SRT investment team in London
Cairn Capital has appointed Chris Cottrell as senior investment analyst

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

Italian bank completes SRT with European Investment Fund support
Banca Popolare di Bari has constructed a €174.5 million significant risk transfer (SRT) deal, which features a vertical risk sharing mechanism