CLOs cheap to corporates but expensive to agency MBS, says BofA
CLO bonds are currently pricing cheap relative to corporates but look expensive relative to agency MBS bonds, according to new research from Bank of America

Apollo launches Atlas to shoulder assets from Credit Suisse unit
Apollo Global Management’s acquisition of Credit Suisse’s securitised products group has reached a milestone with the launch of a standalone business known as Atlas SP Partners

Credit Rendezvous: Make yourself comfortable, there’s a storm coming
In our Q1 outlook, we speak to Edwin Wilches, PGIM (US CLOs), Mikkel Sckerl and Flemming Dose, Capital Four (European CLOs),  Jim Fitzpatrick, CQS (US loans), Loic Prevot, Polus (European loans), Madelaine Jones, Oaktree (global high yield), Art Penn, Pennant Park (US direct lending), Mattis Poetter, Arcmont (European direct lending), Keerthi Raghavan, Waterfall (structured credit), Ray Costa, Benefit Street (distressed), Grant Webster, Ninety One (Emerging markets), Oumar Diallo, Aeon (real assets) for their views for the upcoming quarter. 

New York lifts limit on pension alternatives to 35%
New York pensions have been granted the ability to elevate their alternative investment allocations from 25% to 35%. This comes after New York governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill on 23 December that lifts the “basket clause”

Fund performance: Credit funds end difficult 2022 on a positive note
In December 66% of credit funds reached a positive return, following an even better November where 81% of all funds pushed into the black

Credit hedge fund returns (February 2023)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit funds at a glance (February 2023)
A round up of people moves and fundraising

Senior CLO officials leave Natixis in shock round of resignations
Natixis has been rocked by the departure of four senior members in its CLO and structured credit team

BC Credit targets $1.25 billion for third opportunistic credit fund
BC Partners Credit plans to deploy half the fund in private lending and structured equity opportunities and the other half in specialty lending and dislocated liquid credit deals

Nassau adds $3.6 billion credit firm Angel Island to its platform
Under the deal, Angel Island will become a subsidiary of Nassau’s asset management unit, Nassau Asset Management

Citi forms new securitised trading business
Citi has formed a new securitised products trading business, with sources saying the combined business is better aligned with how the bank’s clients are organised

LA pension awards $675 million to illiquid credit managed account
The strategy will invest across asset-backed credit, loans, bonds, and specialty finance

CDS volume jumps by 50% as investors seek new ways to do business
Credit derivatives traders are wrapping up a bumper year, in which there was a big increase in volume and a growing number of use cases for the product

CSO momentum builds as focus turns to fundamentals
Collateralised synthetic obligations (CSOs) have proved to be a bright part of the credit market in 2022. And participants are daring to dream the coming year will be one of the asset’s busiest.

Fund performance: Light at the end of the tunnel for credit funds after difficult year
Following a tough September, credit funds bounced back in October as 59% of funds made positive returns.

Credit hedge fund returns (December 2023)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit funds at a glance (December 2023)
A round up of fundraising and people moves in credit

VSS exceeds target to close mixed debt and equity fund at $530 million
VSS Capital Partners has announced the final close of its mixed debt and equity vehicle named VSS Structured Capital Fund IV at $530 million, exceeding its target fund size of $400 million

Belstar partners with Apollo to launch global corporate and structured credit fund
Belstar Management Company has launched a credit fund to invest across global liquid and private credit - including both corporate and structured credit

Brevan Howard hires CMBS specialist
Brevan Howard has added to its New York structured credit team

LP round up: 27 managers find the top corner with investor wins
Credit fund managers like to take it one fund at a time and give it 110% for their 90-minute investor fund pitches - and it's working as $3.8 billion was allocated during November and early December. The gaffer would be proud. 

400 Capital raises $580 million for third asset backed credit fund
400 Capital Management has closed its third asset backed fund 400 Capital Asset Based Term Fund III at $580 million

Euro CLOs have better 2023 entry point than US in $140 billion issuance year: Barclays
CLO performance and issuance may have to wait until the second half of next year for improvement, say Barclays credit strategists in a 2023 outlook piece. But Europe could fare better than the US given starting levels in a year the market faces some challenging regulatory hurdles

San Bernardino pension commits $50 million to CLO fund as part of multi-credit strategic partnership
San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association allocated $50 million to a CLO equity fund, as part of a roughly $240 million multi-credit strategic partnership with the manager