CLOs hit by bankruptcy of Envision as zero recovery predicted for first lien loans
Envision has joined the growing number of companies to have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The emergency medical services company, which has been owned by KKR since 2018, announced on 15 May that it was entering a restructuring support agreement.

LP round up: HPS wins $550m mandate as Ares launches third US direct lending fund
US institutional investors allocated nearly $3 billion to credit funds in April. The news comes amid a BlackRock survey in the month which showed significant investor interest in private credit

Loan recoveries slump as investors bank on rebound
The average recovery rate for defaults in 2023 has declined considerably due to a combination of factors such as: cov-lite loans, priming activity in previous years, loan-only borrowers defaulting, and the sectors in which the defaults have been concentrated

Stress ticks up in CLOs as downgrades take triple C loans to over 5% of market
The percentage of the leveraged loan market rated triple C passed 5% in April and further expected downgrades are likely to push the figure over 7.5% in the coming months

Credit hedge fund returns (May 2023)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit funds at a glance (May 2023)
A round-up of people moves and fund raising

March madness sees most funds give up gains made in Q1
After a positive start to the year, credit funds ended the quarter with a step backwards; just under 30% of those listed reached positive returns for the month.

Diameter closes second dislocation fund at $2.2 billion hard cap
Diameter Capital Partners has closed its second dislocation fund with $2.2 billion commitments

Defaults rise yet fears of low recoveries hurt even more
Defaults and Chapter 11 filings are picking up this year amid tougher economic conditions for borrowers

CLO funds make best of a bad situation
It can’t get any worse can it? Well, it did in 2022, when credit spreads kept moving wider. Still, CLO funds were able to withstand the pressure, and they outperformed other credit strategies

Fund performance: European CLO funds lead the way
February was a positive month for many funds, as only one quarter failed to reach the black. This builds off a stellar start to the year: 96% of funds reached a positive return in January

Credit hedge fund returns (April 2023)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit funds at a glance (April 2023)
A round up of people moves and fundraising

LP round up: opportunistic credit dominates as investors allocate $2.2 billion
US institutional investors invested at least $2.2 billion to credit funds in March, according to documents seen by Creditflux, with opportunistic credit funds dominating commitments

Illinois pension seeks direct lending and opportunistic credit funds for $300 million allocation
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund is searching for direct lending, opportunistic, and distressed/special situations private credit funds with plans to allocate at least $300 million capital

Angelo Gordon wraps up fundraising for $1.3 billion credit dislocation fund
AG CSF2A (Annex) Dislocation Fund is an extension of the AG Credit Solutions Fund II, which held a $3.1 billion final close in April last year.

Credit Rendezvous: Make yourself comfortable, there’s a storm coming
In our Q1 outlook, we speak to Edwin Wilches, PGIM (US CLOs), Mikkel Sckerl and Flemming Dose, Capital Four (European CLOs),  Jim Fitzpatrick, CQS (US loans), Loic Prevot, Polus (European loans), Madelaine Jones, Oaktree (global high yield), Art Penn, Pennant Park (US direct lending), Mattis Poetter, Arcmont (European direct lending), Keerthi Raghavan, Waterfall (structured credit), Ray Costa, Benefit Street (distressed), Grant Webster, Ninety One (Emerging markets), Oumar Diallo, Aeon (real assets) for their views for the upcoming quarter. 

Fund performance: Credit funds end difficult 2022 on a positive note
In December 66% of credit funds reached a positive return, following an even better November where 81% of all funds pushed into the black

Credit hedge fund returns (February 2023)
Credit hedge fund returns

Credit funds at a glance (February 2023)
A round up of people moves and fundraising

BC Credit targets $1.25 billion for third opportunistic credit fund
BC Partners Credit plans to deploy half the fund in private lending and structured equity opportunities and the other half in specialty lending and dislocated liquid credit deals

Lights go out for Heritage Power with 120 CLOs left in the dark
US based power plant operator Heritage Power filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the bankruptcy court of Texas on Tuesday night, impacting $124.45 million of assets held by 120 US CLOs.

Serta Simmons makes its bed again with default leaving CLOs with a restless night
$172.5 million of CLO assets defaulted on Monday after Serta Simmons Bedding filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Beneath the triple C: Life could be better, but it’s just a letter, under the CCC
Many market participants were eagerly looking forward to a break in December after a gruelling year, but the rating agencies were in no mood to oblige. 

Fitch raises low end of its default forecasts for US leveraged loans and high yield
Fitch Ratings has increased the low end of its US leveraged loan and high yield default forecast ranges to reflect growing macroeconomic headwinds