Early 2021 moves open up CLO and credit curve dislocations
Fund managers are keeping a close watch on credit curves as sharp moves since the start of December have forced relative value to shift between corporate bonds, CDS, CLOs and loans. This has put CDS curve steepeners in focus but, conversely, CLO flattening appears likely.

Fund performance: CLO funds keep up momentum as Napier Park finishes top
2020 ended with funds in our CLOs category taking the top few spots

Napier Park fund ends 2020 on top with massive 29.5% gain
Napier Park Global Capital stormed to the top of our credit hedge fund rankings for 2020, registering a gain of 29.49% through Napier Park Eton Fund.

Credit Rendezvous: heading for homes
Fund managers in structured credit, real assets and distressed are bullish on the prospects for residential housing in 2021. Elsewhere, niche royalty-based strategies are in favour and although a CLO repricing wave is expected, it may not be easy to execute resets. For more, read our 13-page quarterly report on credit. 

2020 wrap: CLO funds bloom despite rocky ground
2020 was a busy year for CLO fundraising, with Creditflux recording at least 30 funds that launched over the 12 months to invest across the CLO capital structure

Points up front: Brushing up on CLOs
It’s that time of year when CLO analysts forecast 2021 CLO volumes. It’s a thankless task, but for Serhan Secmen, head of CLOs at Napier Park Global Capital, losing a wager with a US CLO structurer on CLO volumes in 2015 meant he had to create a work of art on a triathlon theme

Napier Park prices five-year reinvestment CLO via BNP Paribas
Napier Park Global has teamed up with BNP Paribas to issue a new five-year reinvestment CLO

CLO pipeline: fixed income giants plan debut 2.0s with Morgan Stanley
Two large fixed income managers are pre-marketing debut 2.0 CLOs

Fund performance: A third of funds reach positive territory in 2020
August has been another successful month for the CLO category as seven of the top 10 funds invest primarily in CLOs

LP round up: $5 billion flows to credit as private market allocations increase
Global institutional investors allocated nearly $5 billion to credit funds this week, according to documents seen by Creditflux

Don’t obsess over the state of your OC cushions
During Creditflux’s live CLO webinar last month, panellists agreed that fighting to keep an over-collateralisation test in compliance could do more harm than good in the long term

They said it: "Imagine a garden party and all of a sudden a big wasp shows up"
On Creditflux’s US CLO webinar last month, Napier Park’s head of US CLO investments Serhan Secmen described the March sell-off as a garden party

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 

Double Bs tighten as Regatta prices junior CLO debt at 730bp
Regatta Loan Management, the CLO management entity linked to Napier Park Global Capital, has joined the select number of US CLO issuers to price double-B rated debt at less than 800 basis points

Points up front: Credit professionals to sleep rough for charity
Head of structured credit at Napier Park Global Capital, Serhan Secmen, will be spending 21 November sleeping out. He’s not being evicted – rather he’s volunteering to raise money in support of homeless children.

Texas pension to lift direct lending budget to $250 million
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) is considering investment in a number of direct lending funds, with existing and new managers, according to documents seen by Creditflux  

US CLO round-up: 20 managers sit on the sidelines as volumes play catch-up
US CLO issuance this year is trailing 2018 by $10.7 billion as of 6 September, dampened by a slow third quarter. But Napier Park and Par-Four priced deals, which means that 20 managers are yet to return having priced CLOs last year 

Regatta prices first US CLO in 12 months
Regatta Loan Management - the capitalised manager vehicle linked to Napier Park Global Capital - yesterday returned to the CLO primary market with its first new issue in the US market for just under a year

Market rallies as key CLO investor retreats

CLOs at a glance

CLO refis regain popularity as Napier Park reworks 2013 deal
CLO refi volumes are continuing to pick up pace. Napier Park Global Capital yesterday brought April to a close by pricing the month’s sixth refinancing, an uptick from just seven across the global market in the first quarter of the year

Texas pension adds $50 million to distressed separately managed account
The managed account has reached a total of $300 million 

Points up front: “I always think of myself as Bruce Lee when I’m investing in CLO equity”
An analytical mind, a strong network of industry contacts and an eye for value are vital for a competent CLO equity investor. But don’t forget the one-inch punch