Creditflux

Managers dispel myth that lenders can’t influence ESG
There’s a growing belief among credit fund managers that they can influence borrowers to take on ESG-friendly practices, contrary to the widely-accepted notion that the business practices of companies are dictated by their private equity owners.

Proskauer promotes eight to partner in credit
Law firm Proskauer has promoted 15 lawyers to partners in its London, New York and Boston offices – including eight who work in credit

Mayer Brown adds leveraged finance partner in Frankfurt
Mayer Brown has appointed Bernina Butt to its banking and finance practice as partner

NNIP's private debt head moves to private equity job
The team leader for direct lending, loan portfolio financing and non-performing loan securitisations at NN Investment Partners has moved to a senior private equity job at AnaCap Financial Partners

Ucits at a glance
A round-up of ucits fund performance

Purdue Pharma bankruptcy highlights value of ESG analysis
Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy this week, and the sector wide concern over the US opioid epidemic, has highlighted the utility of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards in credit analyses

Muzinich seeks Nordic expansion with hire from Legg Mason
The firm has added a newly created role of head of Nordics to develop the firm’s presence in the region across both institutional and wholesale  private and public credit products

THL updates credit investment framework to include ESG
THL Credit Advisors has announced that it has developed an investment framework for assessing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in analysing credit quality and risk factors

Guidelines fail to assuage fears over loose reporting standards
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute’s new hedge fund reporting guidelines come into play next year, but some say they fall short of a much-needed overhaul.

EQT looks to raise €500 million via IPO
The initial public offering is anticipated to increase EQT's flexbility to “pursue growth opportunities” and expand its private market investing business

Europe and US diverge on covenant lite structures
Direct lending is syphoning away traditional loan supply

Ares credit business grows 4.4%, driven by US direct lending
US and European direct lending, alternative credit and syndicated loan funds dove growth for Ares Management Corporation in the second quarter, the firm said

Direct lenders accused of exaggerating terms in lender education
Sources say that some direct lenders in Europe are submitting standard indicative lender terms with limited or no internal discussions with their respective credit committees.

GSO adds $10 billion to inflows with direct lending, structured credit and energy
Blackstone grew its credit assets under management to $139.3 billion, up 13% on a year ago, according to the firm's second quarter earnings release

Investor requirements rather than performance is driving ESG push: Creditflux survey
Only 14% of respondents to Creditflux's global credit ESG survey said performance was the main reason they were adopting envoronmental, social and governance-themed strategies

Direct lenders pin hopes on ESG as risk management tool
Strategies geared towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) may have originally been popularised at the behest of pension funds seeking responsible investments, but there are growing hopes that incorporating ESG will help fund managers outperform in a downturn.

Senior figure rejoins Credit Suisse to head European capital markets
The bank is looking to build out its key European platforms - and has hired an official who left just last summer 

US pension replaces Cliffwater with Meketa
Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds has selected Meketa as a consultant to oversee its opportunistic investments, which consists of direct lending and opportunistic credit investments, along with investments in hedge funds and real assets.  

Cairn teams with Mediobanca for European credit Ucits fund
The strategy will focus on four credit asset classes - financials, corporates, asset-backed securities and special opportunities 

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

BlackRock names global alternatives head amid senior leadership shake-up
BlackRock has reshuffled its leadership and made several senior changes across various parts of its business, according to an internal memo seen by Creditflux

Muzinich launches multi-strategy credit fund with Italian wealth manager
Available for retail investors, the fund will invest in syndicated loans, private debt and high yield. It will be structured as a European Long-Term Investment Fund

Italian pension fund seeks loan exposure through direct lending and large cap loan funds
Intesa Sanpaolo’s defined contribution pension scheme has issued a tender notice seeking senior secured loans and direct lending funds to invest in.