Credit Rendezvous: And breathe...
The unanimous verdict is that credit spreads will be moving wider – they have to. But the difficulty credit fund managers face is predicting when the next sell-off comes and how sharp it will be. In the Q3 instalment of Creditflux’s Credit Rendezvous, the over-riding message from portfolio managers is that there’s little point in taking on too much risk. The report features the views of prominent credit figures including Paul Horvath (Orchard), Himani Trivedi (Nuveen), Ronnie Jaber (Onex), Graham Rainbow (Alcentra) and Michelle Russell-Dowe (Schroders). The report looks at 14 segments of the market including CLOs, direct lending, leveraged loans, distressed debt and credit derivatives.  

Flat Rock completes hat-trick of CLO funds taking top spot
Hedge funds that invest in CLO tranches are the top performers in our database for a third month in a row.

Fund performance: Déjà vu as April leaders dominate
CLO funds stayed in the top flight for another month as they took over the top 10 credit hedge fund return table in May, when 87% of all funds listed made positive returns

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

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

Bridgepoint signals IPO and eyes real asset acquisitions
Bridgepoint unveiled its intention to go public on Tuesday, with the manager planning to issue £300 million worth of ordinary shares listed on the London Stock Exchange

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

BlackRock European ABS head joins USS
USS Investment Management, the wholly-owned investment management arm of the UK pension Universities Superannuation Scheme, has hired a head of asset backed securities

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

Manager targets $450 million for global CLO fund
A New York pension has backed the fund, which will invest in CLO debt and equity tranches and is said to have held a first close in Q1

Credit fundraising: Audax scores big in lighter month
Fundraising markedly dropped in May, but credit funds still amassed $12.8 billion and 10 credit funds reached final closes across a variety of different strategies

Lupus Alpha CLO funds bounce over 100% in year-long rise
Lupus Alpha’s CLO funds have posted 100%-plus returns in the past 12 months, with Lupus Alpha CLO Opportunity Notes II up 137.24%

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

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

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

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

Carlyle hires head of credit investor relations in New York
Carlyle Group has hired an ex-Pretium official to lead investor relations for its credit platform

CLOs' favourite telco jumps tighter following strong results
French telco Altice is in focus on Friday as credit puts thoughts of a broader directional trade on hold

DWS and Tikehau target UK pensions with multi-strategy credit fund
The new fund will invest in CLOs, ABS, private debt, leveraged loans, infrastructure debt and real estate debt