CSO pipeline strengthens following ESG breakthrough
ESG criteria and longer investment horizons are driving new business in a resurgent bespoke tranche market, say dealers. And while this is unlikely to get 2021 near to a 2019-like haul of deals by year end, hopes are high that volume is firmly back on an upwards traject

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

Credit hedge funds (July 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Ucits at a glance: Ucits stay positive for second month in a row
Ultra-tight credit spreads are not taking away from Ucits funds – 80% of funds in our database have again recorded positive returns.

Credit index tranche trading on the rise amid low dispersion
At its halfway point, 2021 is shaping up as another big year for credit index tranche trading, with new investors having entered the market and dealers projecting full-year volume could vie with 2020’s record of recent times.

UK government seeks views on securitisation regulation
The UK government has issued a ‘call for evidence’ for the securitisation regulation, the main law that regulates securitisation activities in the UK. Responses to this will inform the government’s review of the regulation, in a report that will be presented to parliament by 1 January

BlackRock European ABS head joins USS
USS Investment Management, the wholly-owned investment management arm of the UK pension Universities Superannuation Scheme, has hired a head of asset backed securities

CarVal exceeds target with $3.6 billion distressed credit fund
CarVal will invest in distressed credit including acquiring loan portfolios, investing in corporate securities, structured credit and hard assets

Axa IM extends palm oil policy to cover ecosystem protection and deforestation
Axa Investment Managers says it is expanding its 2014 policy of excluding investments in companies which do not have sustainable palm oil production certificates by factoring in deforestation and ecosystem protection

HSBC AM names CEO of new $53bn alternatives business
HSBC Asset Management has become the latest manager to bring together its ‘alternatives’ capabilities under one roof, with the launch of a new unit, HSBC Alternatives

Ex-NatWest Markets CLO structuring head lands on buy side
A European credit manager has hired Luca Giancola for the "repositioning of its private structured credit business"

Schroders unites private market divisions under Schroders Capital umbrella
Schroders has united its private market capabilities under a new umbrella branded Schroders Capital

Novicap tech platform targets credit investors with fundraising drive
Novicap, a fintech company offering working capital optimisation solutions to SMEs and mid-market corporates, is looking to debt capital markets participants such as credit and structured credit funds, asset managers, pension companies and insurers as it seeks to raise third-party funding for its credit platform

"In the afternoon I awoke from a pile of willow leaves to discover we had created a Welsh ether-based token"
A localised crypto-currency boom and bust cycle teaches Welshcake (again) that everything becomes correlated in a downturn  

Tech firm tempts credit investors with supply chain finance offer
Novicap, a fintech company focused on invoice financing, is looking to debt capital market participants — such as credit and structured credit funds, asset managers, pension companies and insurers — as it seeks to raise third-party funding for its credit platform

No labels mean CLO triple As refuse to budge as mezz rallies
Senior European CLO spreads are stuck in the mid 80s as mezzanine tranches rally, with market participants bemoaning the lack of depth in the triple A investor base relative to ABS products

Managers offer solutions for underfunded pensions
Credit managers are tapping UK defined benefit pensions that are battling negative cashflows

Past returns: Having a whale of a time in tranches
In Creditflux 10 years ago we reported on JP Morgan’s “little known prop book” making waves in index tranches

They said it: "The board announces the discovery of a website purporting to represent Volta"
They said it 

Equity tranche longs fall out of favour as spreads tighten and dispersion picks up after uniform moves
Dispersion is picking up after relatively uniform moves in credit in the early part of 2021. CDS index equity tranches had outperformed for much of this year but spreads have gapped out a touch in the past few weeks

Fund performance: CLO funds outperform as two hit over 100% 12-months return
CLO funds swatted away the competition in April on their way to dominating our top 10 credit hedge fund return table after an upbeat month

Credit hedge funds (June 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

Ucits at a glance: Altana sits atop tables as credit bounces back
Ucits funds picked up in April as 79% made positive returns

Credit funds at a glance (June 2021)
A round up of fundraising and people moves in credit