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

"Pain is on the way: spreads are too tight, while compression and carry are done. But what if it's not?"
Welshcake reminds us that mid-cycle portfolio management is a funny old game  

CLO investors don Euribor caps to hedge rising rates
Euribor-capped tranches have made a comeback in European CLOs, with AIG and PGIM understood to be behind them. Sources say PGIM has been investing in triple A-rated tranches, while AIG has taken on double-A rated tranches

Credit fundraising: managers take care of infrastructure with new partnerships
Credit managers were busy launching new partnerships to support growth in infrastructure and CLOs. There were 13 announcements in the month paving the way for upcoming funds, platforms, and joint ventures

Birch Grove merges with American Securities' credit business
US private equity firm American Securities has merged its opportunistic credit business, Ascribe Capital, with boutique alternative credit hedge fund Birch Grove Capital

The Last Tranche with Pretium's Goss: airlines are barometer for reopening trade
In this episode of The Last Tranche, Pretium's Roberta Goss and Creditflux's Hugh Minch discuss how the effects of the vaccine rollout and economic reopening are showing in the loan market.

It's all relative: CDX HY touches record tights but junior US CLO tranches leak wider
Credit spreads are marching tighter, but someone forgot to tell the CLO market. European and US CDS spreads have moved in step with each other for the most part with investment grade and high yield tightening 4-6% in the last week, whereas CLOs have been losing ground

CLO demand to drive loan outperformance over bonds: BNP Paribas
The buying power of CLOs and funds could mean leveraged loans rally further and outpace high yield bonds, says BNP Paribas' credit research team

Update: Kayne to split from CLO and credit opps units
Kayne Anderson is set to spin out its CLO business

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

"Technology won’t replace human judgement. In ESG a qualitative review is necessary"
The social aspect of ESG must be given sufficient weight in investment decisions  

Credit markets heed early indicators of inflation pressure
Inflation became the topic du jour after the consumer price index (CPI) grew 4.2% in April, its fastest rate since September 2008 and much higher than the 3.6% many analysts predicted

Elfa adds to ESG fact sheet range in standardisation drive
The European Leveraged Finance Association (Elfa) will shortly publish sector-specific fact sheets for the transport and healthcare industries, sources say, bringing its total of ESG fact sheets to 12

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

Breakthroughs come thick and fast for Libor alternatives
Momentum has gathered around initiatives to replace Libor in contracts, with CME Group obtaining a regulatory nod on the term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (Sofr) as well as moving to launch interest rate futures based on banks’ short term credit yields

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

Lighten up, these are due an upgrade
CLO triple C buckets were overflowing last year, but the average exposure is now 7.3%. That is still close to trigger levels, but CLO managers are relaxed, as further loan upgrades are on the horizon

Meag hires experienced credit specialist for top fixed income job
€328 billion asset manager Meag has appointed a head of active fixed income in Munich to oversee a range of assets including credit

CLOs bask in 'golden period' as industry approaches $1 trillion market cap
The economic rebound following the reopening US economy has created a 'golden period' for the CLO market, market participants say

Blackstone and Credit Suisse among participants in talks for new ESG loan index
European leveraged loan market participants – including Blackstone and Credit Suisse – are said to be in the process of launching the ESG loan index

CLO PM set to leave PGIM ahead of move to London-based manager
A London-based mid-sized CLO manager has hired an official from PGIM