London specialist lender names head of underwriting
Iron Bridge Finance, a property development direct lender, has announced the appointment of Gareth Ward as head of underwriting

Real estate lender closes two credit funds with backing of insurance company
RRA Companies, which invests in the US commercial real estate lending space, has revealed first closes for two of its funds that form part of the company’s CRE Credit Platform III

Real estate manager launches $1.5 billion credit fund
Utah-based Bridge Investment Group has launched its third direct lending fund, according to regulatory filings seen by Creditflux

Texas-based credit and real estate manager launches new fund
Hudson Advisors has launched a credit fund, according to regulatory filings seen by Creditflux

Real estate lending gains €700 million in six months for Paris-based direct lender
French alternative investments manager Acofi Gestion has raised €700 million of AUM for commercial real estate lending since July 2017

Three Swiss banks team up to launch new private market fund platform
New investment boutique Hermance Capital Partners will focus on private equity, private debt and private real estate

AUM drops but Oaktree dubs 2017 a "strong" year
Alternative investment specialist Oaktree Capital Management has reported a slight decrease in assets under management for the year of 2017 – but the Los Angeles-based firm’s chief executive described the year as a “strong” one for the company

Aberdeen Standard Investments launches global private markets fund
Aberdeen Standard Investments has launched a £138 million Global Private Markets Fund (GPMF), which will invest in a diversified mix of private credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure

BNPP AM establishes two new private debt strategies
BNP Paribas Asset Management establishes two new private debt strategies: European Infra Debt and European Real Estate Debt

TPG's Questa joins London-based direct lender as managing director
Stefano Questa, formerly managing director at TPG, has joined European credit platform Hayfin Capital 

LGIM hires three to private credit team
Legal and General Investment Management Real Assets (LGIM) has announced three senior hires to its private credit business 

Angel Oak exceeds $250 million target for inaugural mortgage credit fund
The Altanta-based manager has held a final close on its first private debt fund, recieving capital commitments of $291 million 

Carlyle, ICG and Oaktree earn approvals as Chile's first alternatives managers
The news follows recent reforms to Chile’s Pension Fund Law allowing pension fund administrators to invest directly in alternative asset managers

Blackstone taps Australia's mortgage loan market with new acquisition
New York-based Blackstone is tapping into Australia’s lucrative mortgage loan market by acquiring an 80% stake in direct lending company La Trobe Financial

KKR Credit wins US pension fund's $300 million private debt mandate
KKR credit has won a mandate from an Iowa pension fund to act as its private corporate debt strategic partner, board documentation seen by Creditflux reveals

Amundi raises €665 million loan fund and expands in real estate debt
Paris-based Amundi reveals the final close of its third senior corporate debt fund and expansion of its real estate platform

Aberdeen Standard holds first close on secured credit fund at £350 million
Aberdeen Standard Investments is looking to invest in real estate debt, infrastructure debt and other types of private credit

AEW and Natixis AM raise another €100 million for real estate debt fund
AEW and Natixis Asset management, both affiliates of Natixis Global Asset Management, have completed a third closing of Senior European Loan Fund II (Self II) following commitments from institutional investors in France, Germany and Italy

London-based Signal raises €725 million for credit and real estate funds
London-based private asset management firm Signal Capital Partners has raised €725 million with an investment strategy targeting credit and real estate special situations

Texas pension fund plans to expand into opportunistic credit
Public pension plans to introduce a 2-3% allocation to opportunistic credit as it eyes new credit classes

Institutional investors - does Europe still provide the best opportunities in credit?
Cash or synthetics, CLOs versus CMBS, senior or junior debt? Institutional investors have a variety of ways to approach credit investing and Creditflux's biannual survey of credit allocators aims to determine which market they view as offering compelling returns

Time-saving hedge fund platforms stop opportunities evaporating
Lengthy commitment periods and drawn-out negotiations between institutional investors and fund managers could be a thing of the past thanks to a wave of multi-manager hedge fund platforms

Creditflux parent rebrands as Acuris
Creditflux’s parent company gained a new name last month, with Mergermarket Group relaunching as Acuris

Fund platform AMX eyeballs credit funds
Willis Towers Watson’s hedge fund platform has grown to $1.5 billion – and there is space for credit managers