Credit hedge funds (March 2022)
Credit hedge fund returns

Market whipsaw sends indices and their constituents in opposite directions
The speed and violence of the credit market's oscillation is causing disruption in index skews, with constituent single names struggling to adjust quickly enough against deepening macro volatlity

Euro volatility outpaces US with pivotal hours ahead in Ukraine
Financial markets took another battering on Tuesday, as Russia's war with Ukraine ramped up and western countries moved to enact new sanctions

Ukraine crisis takes EU and Russian markets into new territory
Credit spreads went back to the wides again on Monday, after the European Union intensified its pressure on the Russian economy and reached an unprecedented agreement to supply Ukraine with weapons

Market whipsaws tighter as west holds out on Russian sanctions
Extreme market volatility is extending into the weekend, with a big gap tighter in spreads on Friday as the credit market see-saws due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the uncertain response of both western countries and China

Global markets reel as Russia goes to war with Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is sending shockwaves around the region and far beyond, with the military campaign demanding a sharp reassessment of where the spiralling crisis could lead

European credit rallies in stark discord with deepening Ukraine crisis
Cognitive dissonance looks to be afoot in the credit market on Wednesday, with indices rallying for a second day even as Russian and Ukrainian spreads move to new wides

German real estate co surges tighter despite market-wide single name sell off
Adler Group is a big improver in credit markets on Tuesday, against a broad sell off of other single names that has taken another European high yield company - Fives - to worrying risk levels

Investors look to US response after Putin lights touch paper on Ukraine intervention
Credit investors are left facing a what-happens-next moment after Vladimir Putin recognised the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine as independent states, paving the way for Russian forces to intervene. In response the US has moved swiftly to impose new sanctions targeting the two regions

French co rattles investors on micro level as Russia overclouds macro
After a cautious opening, investors in the European credit market have resumed hedging as western leaders continue to talk up the prospect of Russia invading Ukraine and the Kremlin has dismissed hopes of a Biden-Putin summit as premature

Investors rush to hedge Russia as barrage of threats tee up nervous weekend
The prospect of a flare-up between Russia and Ukraine has left credit spreads back at their recent wide levels going into the weekend, with European investment grade credit particularly feeling the heat following 'false flag' headlines on Friday

Credit fund rout extends as storm winds buffet from all sides
Another choppy week for financial markets has extended the run of fund outflows, with investors fleeing from all parts of credit and even equity suffering a drop, with government bonds gaining traction

Scramble to cover shorts extends rally, but analysts stub out tobacco
European outperformance of US credit is picking up despite the UK posting record inflation numbers, as optimism on Ukraine combines with the wrong-footing of investors that had positioned extremely bearishly

Europe drives relief rally after Russia signals troop withdrawal
European financial market volatility has brought another reversal of relative value dynamics versus the US, with Russia/Ukraine developments extending their sway

European panic over Ukraine pushes market to new wides
European underperformance of US credit has resumed at the start of the week, with the market waking up on Monday morning to another sharp sell off. But the lengthening downturn has some believing spreads have overshot, while others insist worse is to follow

Credit and equity fund flows diverge ahead of Fed emergency meeting
Outflows from credit have extended into another week, even as stocks returned to inflows, as speculation mounted the US Federal Reserve could opt for a 50bp hike in March or even an earlier than anticipated hike at an emergency meeting next week

Europe outpaces US as investors scramble to cover their shorts
Lifting of short positions has helped take European credit into a second successive day of outperformance against the US, with financial companies and some of the more recently volatile high yield names leading the way

Europe leads relief rally with energy and peripheral bank credits outperforming
Credit spreads are making a broad move tighter on Tuesday, with European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde having tried to rein back rate hike expectations and oil company BP posting strong profits

European underperformance extends against US with another big sell off
The underperformance of European credit versus the US has extended at the start of the week, with investors still struggling to digest the impact of last week's European Central Bank meeting statements

Europe/US relative value comes into play amid growing credit outflows
Big successive moves wider are taking credit spreads to new extremes and bringing compression between Europe and the US amid the highest daily market volatility since 2020

Investment grade hit hardest as tech earnings and rate hike undo market rally
Financial markets have reversed course following two days of improvement, with credit spreads hit by poor tech company earnings and a Bank of England rate hike

Credit hedge funds (February 2022)
Credit hedge fund returns

Fund performance: Wasserstein's early 2021 performance drives it to the top
The final top 10 of 2021 featured a variety of funds as five different strategies were ranked among the best. US high yield was the most highly represented with two BlackRock funds and an Angel Oak in the top 10

Ucits at a glance: Robus claims top spot in 2021 after tight race
Ucits funds have ended 2021 on a high as 62% made positive returns in December

Bond pipeline builds as rocky markets thwart supply
Various factors have played into credit spreads widening at the start of 2022, but an over-supply of bond issuance is not one of them — in contrast to what was moving the market this time last year