Real assets are now the top picks in private credit
Direct lending is no longer the darling of the private credit market, with pension funds increasingly making space for credit strategies backed by real assets.

Credit funds at a glance
A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Fund performance: CLO funds pick up where they left off
A round-up of fund performance

San Francisco pension earmarks $200 million for mortgage fund
San Francisco City and County Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) has committed $200 million to a credit fund managed by Cerberus Capital Management  

New York pension fund puts emphasis on sustainability with $800m credit allocation
The New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF) has put $800 million into credit with a strong sustainability focus, hiring Avenue, Calvert and Nuveen

KKR closes $1.3 billion global impact fund
KKR has made a final close of its KKR Global Impact Fund SCSp at $1.3 billion  

Mercer puts private debt at heart of $2.7 billion fund of fund
Mercer has held a final close at $2.7 billion for a private markets fund that offers investors access to private debt and sustainable products  

Whitehelm holds €500 million first close on infrastructure debt strategy
Whitehelm Capital has held a €500 million first close on its infrastructure debt strategy, according to an announcement. Creditflux's sister publication Inframation reports that this is split between Whitehelm Capital Infrastructure Debt Partners I and managed accounts

Californian pension opens search for consultant
Sacramento County Employees Retirement Scheme has launched a request for proposals from consultants to advise on what it has dubbed its 'alternatives portfolio'

Credit Rendezvous: the outlook in 2020 across a dozen segments of the credit market
Welcome to the Credit Rendezvous, the first instalment of a regular feature published by Creditflux that tracks credit market dynamics in a dozen segments from investment grade, liquid loans, CLOs and CSOs all the way through to distressed debt. We view this as the meeting point for credit specialists across strategies to share their perspectives

US CRE CLO growth spurt encourages Europeans
The US CRE CLO market hit a record $19.2 billion in 2019 and sources say that a first ever European deal will be issued this year. They cite the growing commercial mortgage direct lending market on the continent as laying the foundations for a European CRE CLO.

Fund performance: Presents under the tree as CLO funds perform

Credit funds at a glance

Investors preferred real asset debt to corporate private debt in 2019, finds Bfinance
Bfinance stated that, in dollar terms, real asset debt searches conducted by investors outweighed corporate private debt searches in 2019

Texas pension backs ICG credit fund
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) committed $167 million to a fund managed by Intermediate Capital Group in January, according to documents seen by Creditflux.  

Pimco launches listed multi-sector global credit fund
Known as Pimco Tactical Income Fund, the fund will invest in a range of global credit strategies and will list on the New York Stock Exchange

Eaton's private credit co-head departs after 10 years
The co-head of private credit at placement agent Eaton Partners has left to join an all-women investment firm focused on commercial real estate debt 

Napier Park beats 47 managers to win pension's lucrative credit mandate
Napier Park Global Capital has emerged as the winner for a $500 million illiquid credit mandate for Los Angeles County Employees Association, after the pension recieved 48 responses to its original request for proposal 

CRE CLO volume grew 40% in 2019, says Kroll, as Bridge preps first 2020 deal
$19.2 billion of CRE CLOs were issued last year - a 40% increase from 2018 figures. The first deal of 2020 is underway

Private debt takes centre stage as Arizona looks to bolster credit allocation to 25%
Arizona State Retirement System remains bullish on credit with the $41.9 billion institution looking to bolster its entire credit allocations to almost a quarter of the fund - and private debt will take centre stage in the Arizona pension’s growth plans

Private debt tops the private markets agenda for insurers, finds Schroders
Insurers currently allocate the largest proportion of their private assets’ portfolio to private debt, followed by real estate, according to study published by asset manager Schroders  

US pension backs special opportunities fund
Virginia Retirement System (VRS) has committed $150 million to a special opportunities fund, managed by Ares Management Corporation  

JP Morgan AM moves CFO to head up private credit
The chief financial officer of JP Morgan Asset Management has switched to a newly created role as head of private credit

Fund performance: Long-short funds rule in October as CLO funds struggle
A round-up of fund performance

CLOs at a glance: innovations arrive as year draws to close