Head of direct lending parts ways with Aberdeen Standard
After over three years at the helm, the head of direct lending has left Aberdeen Standard Investments  

MGG appoints direct lenders to two US offices
Direct lender MGG Investment Group has appointed two officials to its New York and Dallas team, Creditflux has learned

Barings BDC forms $550 million JV with South Carolina pension
The new joint venture will invest in both liquid and illiquid credit

US pension to invest $75 million in private debt
Vermont pension investment committee (VPIC) has decided to commit $75 million in private debt, following a private credit strategic investment plan recommendation plan recommendation by its investment consultant NEPC.  

Spire wins Creditflux Manager of the Year award
Spire Partners was the big winner at Creditflux's Manager Awards last night as the London-based manager scooped the award for the manager of the year. On top of this, the firm picked up awards for Best European CLO Manager and Best European CLO for Aurium CLO II

Prospect's $500 million CLO fund merges with Stira Alcentra global credit fund
Prospect Capital Management’s $500 million closed-end CLO fund has officially merged with a global credit fund managed by Alcentra and Stira

KKR and FS Investments' BDC platform markets new issue CLO
KKR and FS Investments’ business development company, FS KKR Capital Corp, is marketing a new issue CLO via Citi named FS KKR MM CLO 1

UK pension fund appoints manager for private debt portfolio
Hampshire County Council Pension Fund has appointed JP Morgan Alternative Asset Management as a private debt portfolio manager.

Direct lender Cordet poaches Rothschild mezzanine veteran
Cordet Capital Partners has appointed a Rothschild veteran to its team in London 

Continuous par build can provide a rainy-day fund for when downgrades to triple Cs pour in
If CLO managers are preparing for mass downgrades to triple C loans, then trading gains and thick OC cushions are the best defences

Managers look east as Asian credit fundraising takes off
Several asset managers have outlined plans for growth in Asia as one of their foremost priorities this year.

Endowment funds eye allocations to private credit
Endowment funds are evaluating private credit funds in a bid to meet their 7% return hurdles, and Commonfund, based in Wilton in Connecticut, is leading the charge.

Morgan Stanley grows direct lending arm in New York with two hires
The bank has added a second hire to its private debt team having appointed an ex-Carlyle official to a newly created role as head of direct lending 

US pension fund to commit $1.1 billion in private credit by 2020
Investment consultant NEPC has recommended that Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) commit $550 million in private credit in both 2019 and 2020, according to a private credit review  

Pemberton closes strategic credit opportunity strategy at €1 billion
Pemberton has closed its first fund dedicated to strategic credit opportunities today

Monroe adds ex-Medley official to west coast origination team
The new hire will be based in Los Angeles 

BNP Paribas Wealth appoints head of private equity and private debt investments
The appointment supports what the firm sees as "a significant pick up in clients’ appetite" for the asset classes

Carlyle and PSP join forces for mid market CLO
Middle Market Credit Fund - a joint venture between Canadian pension fund PSP Investments and Carlyle Group - priced its second middle market CLO

California pension approves $20 million for open-ended private debt fund
The commitment comes two months after Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System mandated $25 million to a THL Credit 

Pennsylvania pension commits $150 million to European credit funds
Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System approved $975 million of investments at its 24 April meeting

The Last Tranche: awards season is upon us [podcast]
A look at 2018 award offerings and finalist, plus some insight on direct lending and b-wics

Jefferies subsidiary and Stonyrock plan mid-market alternative manager stake acquisitions
The new joint venture will invest in private equity, credit, hedge funds, real estate, venture, and infrastructure firms

Maryland pension carves out private debt bucket
The Baltimore pension fund has also mandated a total of $25 million to one direct lending fund and one distressed debt fund 

Neuberger Berman holds $1.7 billion final close for private credit fund
The strategy more than doubles fundraising for its predecessor fund NB Private Debt Fund II, which closed in October 2017 with $750 million

Medley signs agreement with activist shareholder over three-way merger
The Medley saga continues...two board of directors have been appointed and several ammendments have been made to the merger agreement