Flat Rock eyes interval fund conversion for private BDC
Flat Rock Capital Corporation, a private business development company managed by Flat Rock Global, has filed to convert to an interval fund, according to US regulatory filings. The BDC will merge into a new entity, subject to shareholder approval

Fund performance: Credit funds post double-digit gains
June returns have once again been led by CLO funds, as seven out of the top 10 belong to our CLOs category.

Don’t be a hero: managers opt to go market-neutral
There’s yet more volatility in store later this year — that’s the consensus according to credit portfolio managers that have spoken to Creditflux. What they are unsure about is the scale and direction of this movement, which is leading them to prune their portfolios with an emphasis on market-neutral tactics

New funds move in as tranche trades take off
Synthetic structured credit funds are proving popular with investors amid a spike in index tranche trading

Banks and high yield corps lead charge as results prompt European rally
High yield corporate credit is today's outperforming part of the market as European credit rallies back from its recent wides, as the latest round of earnings proves stronger than many had expected

US and Europe diverge as loan trading bands emerge on the continent
Europe and the US are on different courses with credit indices having drifted apart over the past month, say trading sources. Europe is expected to suffer fewer defaults to the extent that "it’s getting quite difficult for borrowers to default”, as one source put it. But the US has "higher growth potential due to its more dynamic economy"

Frontier CDS auction pays less than bonds had indicated
A credit event auction to settle Frontier Communications CDS produced a slightly better result than expected for protection sellers

Correction: Orchard Liquid Credit Fund performance
In the May issue of the Creditflux magazine we incorrectly stated in our performance tables the year-to-date return for Orchard Liquid Credit Fund, which is up 10.66%

CLOs hold $189.3 million of J Crew as coronavirus pushes firm into bankruptcy
12 CLO managers hold $189.3 million debt of US retailer and household name J Crew (parent company Chino Holdings), which filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Monday

Fed expands Main Street direct lending scheme but it's unlikely to help CLOs
The US Federal Reserve Board has expanded the scope of its Main Street Lending Programme following more than 2,200 letters of feedback. Under the third loan facility, lenders will hold 15% of the loan to borrowers with greater leverage

Boston pension seeks distressed debt manager
Boston Retirement System is reissuing its private debt manager search and soliciting proposals from firms to manage a distressed debt mandate 

Bain uses rights offerings as unusual route to raise cash for BDC
Bain Speciality Finance is looking to raise additional capital through a rights offering to “further strengthen its balance sheet” and “provide additional flexibility to support existing portfolio companies over the coming months”, chief executive officer Michael Ewald said in an open letter to shareholders on Monday

Fair Oaks suspends dividends from listed CLO fund citing covid-19 uncertainty
Fair Oaks Capital has suspended dividends on its listed CLO fund “in light of the ongoing uncertainty in economies and markets caused by covid-19 pandemic”, according to an update to investors in the $315 million fund

Churchill collects $2 billion for second unlevered US direct lending fund
Churchill Asset Management has held a $2 billion final close on its second US direct lending fund, doubling its original $1 billion target size

Huge CDS gap yawns between US and Europe, despite Fed intervention
Having crossed paths in a rare moment of compression on Monday, iTraxx Europe and its US counterpart CDX IG have since undergone one of their biggest moments of dislocation since the global financial crisis, as an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve failed to comfort investors about the impact of the coronavirus on the US economy

CLOs show coronavirus resistance even as bonds and loans suffer
CLO managers are - so far - looking defensively positioned in relation to the coronavirus outbreak, with only two of the five largest portfolio sectors listed as very negative in latest Wells Fargo research. But investor fears have all but closed the loan and bond primary pipeline, while lower rates signalled by the US Federal Reserve could spell a fall in leveraged loan and CLO demand

Europe rallies hard after CDX IG closes tighter for first time since June
Volatility in credit remains heightened due to the coronavirus outbreak, but movement has become two-way, with European CDS indices surging tighter today after US index CDX IG ended yesterday’s session tighter than iTraxx Europe for the first time in nine months

Portfolio managers wary of US default rates, IACPM survey reveals
Portfolio managers are more pessimistic about North American corporate defaults in the next 12 months than other global regions, according to the latest survey by the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers

US loan trading: Sinclair loans dominate the airwaves as CLOs tune in
Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Diamond Sports – both subsidiaries of issuer Sinclair - worked their way into CLO portfolios in July, with 91 managers purchasing $1.42 billion of the loans in July

Trump tariffs and oil slip dent Europe vs US credit decompression trades
Underperformance of US credit derivative indices at the end of last week has created a trading entry point for those still convinced that Europe has more problems. But bearish factors continue to coalesce on both sides of the Atlantic

Market rout drives US/Europe credit convergence, as Brazil leads Latin widening
Credit spreads have sharply widened globally as financial markets are being rocked by concerns for a trade war and rising US rates. An equity-led rout in the US yesterday afternoon

Pimco raises nearly $700 million for new real estate debt fund
The vehicle will invest in private and public real estate debt opportunities, including senior mortgages, mezzanine financing, CMBS, and other real estate debt related investments

65% of distressed managers plan new funds over the next year, survey finds
Distressed debt is proving to be a popular strategy for managers, with 65% intending to launch a distressed strategy in the next 12 months, according to a report by Creditflux’s sister publication Debtwire and law firm Ropes & Gray.     

Massachusetts pension fund invests $75 million with TowerBrook
Mass PRIM) has made a $75 million commitment to New-York based TowerBrook Capital Partners for its second structured opportunities fund, according to 15 May board documentation

Ares emerges as favourite to take over troubled direct lending fund
Following Oaktree’s wind-down request, the board of the Ranger Direct Lending Fund has chosen Ares as replacement manager - moves which could see the fund change its focus from peer-to-peer loan investments to asset-backed loans