Credit fundraising: Dubai manager gets in on the act as direct lending takes off
Shuaa launches credit fund in the Gulf as Ares, Contingency, HPS and Perceptive are among those to close billion-plus funds

Loomis Sayles launches three European bond strategies for new team
Loomis Sayles has launched three European bond strategies, Creditflux has learned. The news comes after the Natixis affiliate announced earlier that it had added an eight-person European credit team from Kempen Capital Management

Squarepoint adds former bank credit trading head in London
Squarepoint Capital, a cross-asset fund manager that uses systematic and quantitative strategies, has hired a former global credit trading head at Societe Generale to lead fixed income, currencies and commodities alpha capture

Credit sell off picks up pace as lockdown shadows deepen
This week's blow out of credit spreads sharply accelerated today, with mounting coronavirus lockdown fears fuelling a surge wider across the board in tandem with plummeting stocks

IG names hit hardest as cocktail of woes routs market
Investor nervousness is evident at the start of the week with a big widening of spreads on Monday as lack of accord on a new US stimulus package added to concern about rising coronavirus case numbers and jitters in the oil market

Rally puts credit back on even footing but single name volatility persists
A sizeable rally today is putting credit indices back on a flattish footing with where they began the week, adding to the sense the market is finely poised with only six trading days to go before the US presidential election

Credit Rendezvous: sometimes you have to dive deep to find value
Some parts of the credit market are fraught with danger, but that does not mean portfolio managers are avoiding them entirely, according to the Credit Rendezvous, Creditflux's 10-page quarterly report eaturing comments from 15 credit experts

Lazard AM adds boutique's four-person long/short credit team
Lazard Asset Management has expanded its $4.5 billion ‘alternative investment’ platform by bringing on board the credit team from boutique Coherence Capital Partners

Time to trade falling dispersion and high yield compression, says JP Morgan
Investors should position for falling dispersion by trading on-the-run versus off-the-run iTraxx Europe index series, say JP Morgan strategists. And Crossover / Main compression trades look attractive as high yield underperformance has gone too far

IG tranches look 'boring' after distressed names ejected at roll
September’s index rolls brought tranche traders some of the starkest portfolio changes in recent years, with fallen angels and defaults shifting correlation dynamics. This creates relative value openings, but investors will take longer to move into new series as they require extra analysis, say dealers.

The tranche market shines, whatever your view on credit
Index tranche volumes have reached record levels this year and CSOs have withstood the covid crisis. Panellists at the Credit Dimensions webinar outlined a range of trades in a thriving market

Dealers power up as tranche trading hits new heights
A big year for index tranche trading has taken volume within grasping distance of full-year 2019, a post-financial crisis record, with a deepening pool of dealers adding support

Past returns: Bravo! Citi takes applause with CSO portfolios
Five years ago in Creditflux we reported that Citi was planning a follow up to its Bravo portfolio — a CSO reference entity in which the bank made two-way markets

They said it: "Clearing houses have proposed they will clear index tranches next year"
More liquidity for the index tranche market

Credit spreads wind back to February to bring shorts into focus
The credit rally since April has opened up an opportunity to go short credit, say fund managers, with spreads back to where they were in late February

Gaining exposure to US IG credit through the index means giving up about 10% of potential value
A bespoke portfolio of IG credits can take advantage of the skew between indices and single names

Credit hedge funds (October 2020)
Monthly credit hedge fund tables

Ucits at a glance: Advent and Algebris edge towards double digit returns
Two managers stand out in the Ucits rankings as they close in on 10% YTD figures

Credit funds at a glance (October 2020)
A round-up of fundraising and people moves

Fund performance: A third of funds reach positive territory in 2020
August has been another successful month for the CLO category as seven of the top 10 funds invest primarily in CLOs

ESG index roll creates long and short opportunities
The first roll of a CDS index screening for environmental, social and governance criteria has opened a less-watched relative value opportunity for investors

Credit fundraising: managers build homes for real estate credit funds
The “largest ever real estate credit fund” was one of the fundraising highlights last month as Blackstone’s Real Estate Debt Strategies IV fund reached $8 billion on its final close

Tranche market maker jumps to buy-side
BNP Paribas' New York based market maker for credt index tranches has left the bank after seven years 

Go long index mezz tranches to pick up spread: Citi
Citi research has outlined some of the opportunities that have arisen in the index tranche market as a result of elevated correlation

Morgan Stanley expands index tranche trading with London hire
Morgan Stanley has added to its index tranche trading prowess by hiring a London-based market maker for the asset class as well as credit options