Creditflux

Go long CLO triple-A and pick cash bonds over CDS, says JP Morgan
Going long European CLO triple A paper remains one of JP Morgan strategists’ favourite trades following the European Central Bank stimulus announcement last week, despite these tranches having rallied 14bp on average since the bank first backed them. They also predict cash credit to outperform CDS

China ambitions checked in final roll lists for iTraxx and CDX indices
The index roll lists for iTraxx Europe, iTraxx ex-Japan and CDX EM, have all undergone a rethink since IHS Markit published provisional lists earlier this week, with final lists showing name changes

Draghi sends European credit to 2019 tights, as Trump demands Fed response
European investment grade credit – and particularly the financial sector – surged tighter today as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, in the penultimate meeting of his reign, unveiled a ‘whatever it takes’ stimulus

US spreads reconverge on Europe as traders hold breath for ECB
Credit markets are finely poised ahead of today’s meeting of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt today, with some positivity around US-China tariff talks allowing US spreads to gain ground as European expectation remains tempered by German recession fears

Commonfund seeks to diversify manager pool with new portal
Commonfund will launch an online 'diverse manager portal' designed specifically to receive due diligence materials from women and minority-led managers investing in equities, fixed income and credit, real estate and hedge funds

Deutsche Bank reshuffles European capital markets business
Deutsche Bank has reshuffled its European capital markets business, dividing both its leveraged finance and debt capital markets units by origination and syndication

iTraxx and CDX roll provisional lists reveal effects of index overhauls
Eagerly awaited provisional lists are out for this month’s index CDS rolls, with big changes signalled across iTraxx and CDX products

CDS data snapshot: central bank positioning and index rolls drive flows
Welcome to the inaugural run of what will become a weekly insight into credit derivatives trading. Each week, Creditflux will highlight trends and dynamics from most recently available market data. We welcome feedback on measures of the market readers would like to see here in future

Axa IM hires BlackRock PM for global credit strategies
In a newly created role, the hire will be responsible for the firm's global credit strategy in its buy-and-maintain team

Credit traders' kickstand: Financials lead compression as pre-ECB and index roll bulldozers flatten spreads
Caution does not appear to be an operative word in financial markets ahead of next week’s key European Central Bank meeting, with financial names leading the way as credit spreads return to this year’s tightest levels and stocks ascend towards post-crisis peaks

Four sectors most favoured by bullish resumption of QE, say BAML strategists
Autos, healthcare, media and real estate bonds are likely to be the biggest initial beneficiaries if the European Central Bank reinvigorates its corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) next week, say Bank of America Merrill Lynch credit strategists

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

Man uses inflation as key input for asset allocations
Man Group has developed a ‘fire and ice’ framework which it is using to shape allocations across multi-asset funds. The system is based on the idea that inflation is the single-most important factor driving portfolio returns over the long-term. 

If national income were a four-cylinder engine, the US economy is really only firing on one
The US economy’s reliance on consumers increases the likelihood of further rate cuts and diminishing returns for credit investors

Credit funds at a glance
A round-up of fundraising and people moves in credit

Fund performance
A round-up of fund performance

Amundi unveils ESG-focused multi-asset fund
The launch of the Amundi Funds Multi-Asset Sustainable Future fund is driven by the increasing importance of ESG investing and conservative portfolios, says the firm

Esma publishes final guidelines for alternative and Ucits fund liquidity stress-test
Fund managers have just over a year to comply with liquidity stress test final guidelines published yesterday by the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) for alternative investment funds (AIFs) and undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities (Ucits)

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

LCH's French unit adds first Japanese clearing member
Mizuho has signed up as the first Japanese clearing member of LCH SA, the French clearing unit of London Stock Exchange-owned LCH Group

Credit traders' kickstand: Europe ascendant as high yield pipeline returns
The high yield bond primary market grinds back into gear this week just as European credit reaches an extreme point of outperformance over the US, and comes on the back of Europe’s busiest week of investment grade issuance in 18 months

Green bonds and international credit deliver double-digit returns for Swedish pension
Second Swedish National Pension Fund (AP2) reached SEK 367.4 billion in the first half of 2019, with investments in fixed income generating double-digit returns, according to its half year report  

Credit traders’ kickstand: it’s a tough time to go short
Credit derivative indices are ending the week back at very tight levels, with a re-convergence of spreads, with little appetite to bet against presumed central bank dovishness or the upcoming CDS rolls in September

Traders eye high yield CDS b-wics as index rally opens up skew
The rally back of credit derivative indices over recent sessions has caused the skew with their underlying CDS constituents to open up, leading some dealers to posit single name CDS b-wics could be on the way

Italian job bombshell doesn't blow doors off financial CDS outperformance
Senior financial CDS have been among the best performing credits today as the market pushes tighter, with seemingly little anxiety about yesterday’s resignation of Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte