Two structured finance partners join Clifford Chance in New York
Two structured finance partners have joined Clifford Chance’s structured finance practice in New York, according to a statement from the law firm

US pensions funds allocate to Lone Star and Raven credit strategies
Two US-based pension schemes have invested in funds with exposure to credit, highlighting the appetite of institutional investors towards off-the-run asset classes.

Illinois pension backs real estate funds
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund has earmarked $150 million for commitments to Rockwood Capital Real Estate Partners XI and Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies IV.  

Allianz GI gains €270 million for infrastructure debt fund
Allianz Global Investors has raised €270 million for an infrastructure debt fund. The manager has a €500 million target size for Allianz Euro Core Infrastructure Debt Fund and a €750 million hard cap

US pension looks to terminate managers within liquid credit portfolio
San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System is considering terminating Prima Capital Advisors' commercial real estate debt strategy and AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust  

Louisiana pension allocates $150 million to US credit funds
The Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana has committed to Torchlight Debt Opportunity Fund VI and Summit Partners Credit III, a spokesperson for the pension fund has confirmed  

Managers look east as Asian credit fundraising takes off
Several asset managers have outlined plans for growth in Asia as one of their foremost priorities this year.

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

CRE CLO issuance climbs in Q1
SImilarities in structure rival differences in credit analysis

Madison closes real estate debt fund above $1 billion target size
The New York-based manager now has over $4.5 billion of capital to deploy

Church Pension Fund anoints infrastructure debt fund with $40 million
The $13.3 billion pension fund has invested in a fund managed by New Energy Capital

Liquidity and disclosure issues threaten potential CRE CLO market
Most investors that participate in the commercial real estate CLO market want to increase their exposure. But the lack of liquidity and standardised disclosure is holding them back.

Credit funds at a glance

A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

BlackRock names global alternatives head amid senior leadership shake-up
BlackRock has reshuffled its leadership and made several senior changes across various parts of its business, according to an internal memo seen by Creditflux

Fiera buys private credit and real estate specialist in $74 million deal
The transaction will add $3.1 billion of assets under management to Fiera Capital Corporation 

UK pension allocates £900 million to four private debt managers
The £21.9 billion pension fund has awarded £900 million to three private debt managers and one real estate debt manager, according to 6 March board minutes

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  

BlackRock to merge infra and real estate platforms as key figure departs
BlackRock is restructuring its infastructure and real estate platforms into a real assets division, sources say

East Sussex pension injects £60 million into real estate debt
East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF), the £3.3bn public pension fund, has decided to commit £60m to M&G Real Estate Debt VI Fund (RED VI).  

CapitaLand gains $556 million for China real estate debt fund
The Singapore-based firm announced that the fund will target a $750 million final close 

Italian journo pension scheme presses ahead with plan to invest in private debt
The National Institute for Italian Journalists' Social Security (INPGI) has launched a tender notice seeking closed-ended private debt funds to invest in, or unlisted debt instruments including infrastructure debt, private corporate debt and real estate debt  

US pension seek real estate debt managers
The State Universities Retirement System (SURS) has launched a real assets investment search, seeking private core, private core plus, and private non-core real estate managers, on both debt and equity  

Apollo's credit funds report gains in 2018 despite Q4 slump
Apollo saw $21.6 billion inflows throughout the quarter leading to a record total assets under management of $280.3 billion. The firm, however, reported a net loss throughout the quarter 

UBS hits €1 billion final close for second infrastructure debt fund
UBS Asset Management has reached a final close on its second European infrastructure debt fund, Archmore Infrastructure Debt Platform II (IDP II) at €1 billion

New Energy increase target size for infrastructure credit fund
New Energy Capital has increased its infrastructure credit fund’s target size by $100 million following strong capital fundraising, US regulatory filings reveal