Investors shrug at new Evergrande bond deadline a week on from roll havoc
Chinese real estate giant Evergrande looks unlikely to meet a $45 million bond payment due on Wednesday despite reports it plans to sell a $1.5 billion commercial bank stake. But credit markets are showing very little reaction despite initial default concerns having up-ended CDS index rolls only last week

Investcorp strikes partnership with distressed mid-market specialist
Marblegate Asset Management and Investcorp say they have formed a strategic partnership where the latter will provide Marblegate with long-term capital to strengthen its investment platform and provide access to to Investcorp's investor network

Deutsche Bank adds credit trading head to US build out
Deutsche Bank is looking at the next phase of its US development with the hire of a credit trading head from another bank 

US pensions make even more space for private debt
US public pensions are increasing allocations to private debt with sources indicating that the resilience of the asset class during the covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend

Credit hedge funds (September 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

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

Credit Fundraising: Blue Owl and WhiteHorse gain from improving animal spirits
Fundraising perked up in July as managers raised $14.9 billion for credit funds - the third highest monthly amount this year

Credit hedge funds (August 2021)
Credit hedge fund returns

SVP doubles assets from 2020 as it launches $5 billion distressed fund
Strategic Value Partners has closed a $5 billion distressed debt fund, which it says has made it one of the “largest global investors in the distressed debt and special situations space”.

Silver Point raises $2 billion for direct lending
Silver Point Capital has raised $2 billion through its direct lending business for Silver Point Specialty Credit Fund II. The firm says this is its hard cap and that $1 billion was its target

King Street raises $1.2 billion for first global credit drawdown fund
The fund will target distressed and stressed corporate debt, structured products, and asset-backed investments, as well as claims and claim-related opportunities

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.  

Ashurst hires senior structured credit and derivatives lawyer
Law firm Ashurst has added a partner to its global markets practice in New York

Arena holds $215 million first close on special situations fund
Arena's special opportunities partners funds invest in special-situations, asset-backed, credit-oriented investments

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

CarVal exceeds target with $3.6 billion distressed credit fund
CarVal will invest in distressed credit including acquiring loan portfolios, investing in corporate securities, structured credit and hard assets

Ex-CEO Dondero ordered to pay Highland for breaching restraining order
Highland Capital Management has won a $450,000 award against its founder James Dondero after a Dallas court overseeing Highland’s bankruptcy found that Dondero had breached a restraining order granted in December.

LP round up: big name managers win direct lending mandates amid $1.5 billion allocations
Apollo, Ares, Barings and CVC were among the beneficiaries of the direct lending rush in May 

Eagle Point hires trader for non-CLO assets as it eyes growth in corporate credit
Eagle Point Credit Management is growing its non-CLO business, with the firm hiring a head corporate trader responsible for trading high yield, BDC debt as well as equity, reits and other securities

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

Direct lending newcomers reveal doubts over losses
Large direct lenders are quick to point out that experience and restructuring experience counts, particularly as we enter a default phase. What’s surprising is that, when it comes to capital markets investors, those new to direct lending doubt their own ability to manage losses.