McCarthy Denning hires special situations and credit trading partner from Jones Day
Law firm McCarthy Denning has appointed a former Jones Day partner to its banking and financing division in London

Pimco plans to outperform come rain or shine with $4.5bn all-weather fund
Pimco has become the latest manager to fashion a flexible, all weather credit fund that invests across public and private markets, geographies and capital structures. The Newport Beach-based manager is hoping to raise $3 billion for the strategy. With half a turn of leverage, it could have up to $4.5 billion to deploy.

Private credit funds could find better buying opportunities this year, says NEPC
Institutional investors looking to allocate to private credit in 2020 should focus on distressed debt, opportunistic credit and niche lending, according to investment consultant NEPC, with 2019 vintage funds potentially seeing “better buying opportunities” despite valuations being at cyclical highs

Credit event protocol goes into force with 60 extra sign-ups
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association is going live today with a protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events from the CDS market, having signed up 1,358 entities

EQT undertakes strategic review of credit business
EQT has announced a review of its credit business with the firm appointing JP Morgan to evaluate its 'strategic options', according to the firm’s Q4 2019 report

Bayside hires distressed specialist to work across London and Hamburg
Bayside Capital has hired distressed debt specialist Florian Kawohl as managing director

Alvarez & Marsal establishes European practice with senior hire
Alvarez & Marsal has established a Europe debt advisory practice and appointed ex-Marlborough Partners official Tim Metzgen to spearhead the unit in London

BC Partners seeks $1 billion close for special opportunities fund
BC Partners Advisors is targeting a $1 billion close for its recently launched special opportunities fund, according to documents seen by Creditflux.  

Portfolio Advisors hits first close as it targets $1.5 billion for secondaries fund
Private markets specialist Portfolio Advisors has completed a first close on its latest secondaries fund at the end of December 2019, having raised between $600m to $700m, a source told Creditflux  

Värde launches $2.5 billion global credit fund
Värde Partners has raised $2.47 billion for a new global credit fund, according to an announcement today

JP Morgan AM moves CFO to head up private credit
The chief financial officer of JP Morgan Asset Management has switched to a newly created role as head of private credit

Managers acquiesce on fees as small UK pensions seek private credit nest egg
Private credit fund managers are rejigging their fee structures in order to attract small UK pension schemes.

Complacency rules after rally in run-up to UK election
UK credits rallying was a familiar sight for much of November, mainly due to investors cutting their previous short positions ahead of the country’s 12 December election, but dealers reported little appetite to replace long, short or hedging trades going into the final stretch.

Deep dive trade is on, but single name risks still abound
High yield CDS is reversing its previous underperformance versus investment grade, reflecting an investor shift down the quality spectrum in cash bonds.

Ucits at a glance: Ucits continue to chart a steady course

Ucits at a glance: ucits continue to chart a steady course

Pantheon appoints ex-Star Mountain official as head of global private debt
Pantheon has appointed a former Star Mountain Capital official as partner and global head of private debt in New York 

UK pension partnership launches maiden private credit offering at £581 million
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (BCPP) is set to commit £581 million in private credit, as part of its maiden offering in this asset class  

West coast pension looks to step up direct lending allocations
The City of Fresno Retirement System will commit $140-160 million to private credit for the next two years, according to board documentation seen by Creditflux. This comes amid a pause in direct lending commitments for the pension fund, which has not committed any capital to this market in 2019

45% of insurers look to increase private debt allocations, finds Natixis IM survey
Private debt allocations are expected to grow for 45% of insurers over the next three years, according to a recent survey by Natixis Investment Management. But regulation and internal restrictions are the biggest challenges to greater adoption of private markets allocation

Minnesota pension to invest $300 million in distressed and private credit funds
Minnesota State Board of Investments is set to invest $100 million in a mezzanine debt fund and $200 million in a distressed debt fund

Arizona pension to deploy up to $700 million a year in private credit
Arizona Public Safety Employee System is looking to deploy $600-700 million in private credit strategies per year in order to meet its target allocation, according to board documents seen by Creditflux.

Decalia adds ex-Morgan Stanley official to senior private credit role
Geneva-based Decalia Asset Management has appointed a lead portfolio manager for its private market funds

Azimut hires ex-Dyal official as it aims to buy minority equity in asset managers
Azimut will initially focus on acquiring minority stakes in alternative asset managers with under $3 billion AUM – including private credit, private equity, infrastructure and real estate firms

BTIG founds European fixed income credit division and adds four traders
The London-based division will be led by Michael Carley, who BTIG hired last year as a fixed income managing director in New York