Size matters: exposure to small loan facilities worse than covid industries, says BofA
CLO managers that hold a higher portion of smaller sized facility loans in their portfolios have performed worse through the pandemic, according to a Bank of America research paper

Legg Mason teams with affiliate Western for credit fund
Legg Mason has teamed up with its affiliate Western Asset Management to launch a closed-ended fund to invest in a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities, according to fund registration filed by the pair yesterday

Ostrum's US CLO plan takes a turn after head of structured credit leaves
An experienced CLO PM has left Ostrum after just one year

Covid could trigger 'mega trend' into private debt, says Blackstone's Gray
The coronavirus pandemic could spark a 'mega trend' of investors into alternatives in private credit, Blackstone's president and chief operating officer said on the firm's second quarter earnings call on Thursday

Credit Rendezvous: record fiscal stimulus provides pick-me-up
Credit markets had a mini bounce-back in the second quarter as central banks poured cash into the economy. But there is great uncertainty about the effects of a second wave of coronavirus. As part of our quarterly report on credit - the Credit Rendezvous - Creditflux spoke to experts across 12 segments of the credit market

CLO managers push for deeper triple C buckets
CLO managers in the US have launched a concerted effort for greater flexibility on their triple C test limits since the coronavirus-triggered sell off in March

Beneath the triple C: downgrades hold steady as Travelport loses its luggage
For the second month in a row downgrades to triple C steadied, with just under $9 billion of CLO loans falling to this rating across 34 corporate borrowers

Trading places: it can pay to bet on the little guy
It’s assumed investors know how good a CLO manager is by the rate at which they trade their way through a crisis. But this time fi ve small, nimble managers are outperforming the market

Loan slump brings managers closer
A 19% slide in new US loan volumes last year has left CLO managers with fewer options in the primary market, and portfolio overlap between US managers has increased to 35.3% on average

Revolutionary ESG-linked loan wins CLO support
European loan investors welcomed a novel concept in June when Carlyle Group-backed Logoplaste issued the first term loan with pricing linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors

MeDirect confirms corp credit step-back, as CLO team seeks spin-off
MeDirect has confirmed it will reduce corporate lending to focus on retail clients, following a question by Creditflux on the firm's plans to spin off its CLO-managing specialist credit team

Fund performance: CLO funds keep up the momentum for second month running
May returns have been led by continued momentum from CLO funds. In the last month, funds that invest in CLO notes in some capacity have made up 90% of our top 10, while 97% of funds listed generated positive returns - an improvement of 15% on last month's figures.

Credit funds at a glance (July 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Ucits at a glance: Ucits recover lost ground
The foot has come off the gas for many funds - 57% of funds did not break the 2% return barrier.

Zais ESG head to join DWS
Zais Group’s head of ESG (environmental, social, governance) and impact investing is joining DWS as group sustainability officer in New York

Bridgepoint buys EQT's credit business - report
Bridgepoint is buying the credit business of EQT, according to the Financial Times

CLOs dodge offshore driller as restructuring credit event question posed
The Americas Determinations Committee has been asked to rule on whether UK headquartered offshore driller Valaris has triggered a restructuring credit event

LP round-up: mighty Oaks win $1 billion apiece from Calpers
Credit investors allocated over $3 billion to 18 credit managers this week across a wide range of strategies

Värde targets $1 billion for inaugural dedicated credit dislocation fund
Värde is seeking to raise $1 billion for its dislocation and distressed debt fund, according to an investor presentation seen by Creditflux. The firm is targeting a first close this month

Beneath the triple C: downgrade rate slows as $8 billion of CLO loans tumble
May offered some respite to CLO portfolios as corporate downgrades to triple C were reduced heavily - affecting just $6.67 billion of US CLO paper and €1.09 billion of European CLO portfolios

Some managers calculated their CLOs were passing OC tests, only to find them failing the next day
Corporate credit downgrade storms have been weathered before, but this one has come out of season

Europe’s newcomers find ways to stand out
Last year’s new European CLO managers needed to provide something different for investors. In general, they’ve succeeded, with Capital Four having one of the smallest overlap figures in our data

Scale of coronavirus-linked defaults divides credit market
As governments and central banks around the world plough money into the economy in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the loan and CLO markets are nevertheless bracing themselves for a corporate downgrade wave to turn into a default cycle

CLOs look at flipping frequency switch as corporates hold cash
European CLOs could be set to flick their ‘frequency switch mechanisms’ as a growing number of corporations go from paying quarterly to semi-annual coupons

CLOs face trading restrictions as bankruptcies mount
CLO managers could be handcuffed in impending bankruptcies if tranche downgrades continue and restricted trading periods kick in