"In 2022, being slow will not be such a bad thing"
St David losing its place as the UK’s smallest city would be a travesty. Replacing Libor might be worse

Past returns: Insurers weigh CLO barbell trade to fight Solvency II
Five years ago in Creditflux we reported that insurers in Europe were putting on a CLO barbell trade in reaction to Solvency II regulations which came into effect in January 2016

They said it: "Remove call option from CLO assets and liabilities"
A CLO investor, commenting in Creditflux’s CLO Census, comes up with a drastic way of making CLO cashflows a whole lot easier to model

Everyone’s ramping

Points up front: CLO award-winners love bowing out at the top
Reaching the summit of their profession gives CLO officials the compulsion to move on to pastures new, as evidenced by the Creditflux Manager Awards

Points up front: Risk retention gets less than 5% of airtime
In a sign of how buoyant the CLO market is, risk retention was hardly mentioned at Creditflux’s CLO Symposium. Milbank partner John Goldfinch gave a self-deprecating assessment... 

"Purchasing IG CLO debt was a key driver of success for 1.0 CLOs"
Longer reinvestment periods, the ability to buy IG tranches and improved loan settlements would improve CLOs

"I’m passionate about broader representation within investment teams"
CIP's Leila Donnachy takes our credit quiz 

"The CLO industry can be a little clubby… it feels like there are few advocates"
Pension Danmark's David Altenhofen taks our credit quiz 

Points up front: Swapping bylines for a role on the buy side
Creditflux has specialised in CLO coverage for over a decade now and generally we’ve had a clear run at the market because few of our peers appreciate how the CLO machine works. The exception to that has been highly-respected Bloomberg journalist Sarah Husband

"Do not rush to set up a check-box approach with negative screening and start de-investing"
Instead of rushing through an ESG framework, asset managers need to adopt a long- and short-term approach

"Alongside larger private equity funds, loan volumes will continue to grow"
Spire's Phil Bennett-Britton takes our credit quiz

"In some ways, CLOs resemble a quirky, cottage industry more than a trillion-dollar market"
CLO volumes outstanding have passed $1 trillion, but index omission and private placements are holding us back

Past returns: Doing DIY CLOs
Five years ago we reported that CLO managers were considering self-arranged CLOs

They said it: "A lot of value was lost due to CLO window dressing"
"A lot of value was lost due to CLO window dressing"

Points up front: CLO veteran earns OBE
We spotted a household name in the CLO business among those being feted in last month’s Queen’s birthday honours list — former Alcentra chief executive David Forbes-Nixon was awarded an OBE

"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  

"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  

They said it: "The board announces the discovery of a website purporting to represent Volta"
They said it 

Points up front: Waterway to name and brand your CLO
When taking over a CLO launched by another firm, CLO managers face a dilemma: how do you re-brand it so it’s clear it’s one of your CLOs, but not so much that it fudges your personal track record? Well, HPS Investment Partners has found a neat balance

CLOs seem like Premier League members in the world of finance
The CLO industry is in a privileged position and can wield its power to do good  

We say it: Creditflux salutes women in credit
The credit industry is blessed with many strong women and for this issue of Creditflux we’re exclusively hearing their voices across our news, analysis and columns

They said it: "State Street is pleased to offer financing of CLOs in loan form"
"State Street is pleased to offer financing of CLOs in loan form" A spokesperson for State Street confirms the US bank is buying European CLOs as loans, and adds that this will be a growing business line.