Texas pension appoints CIO
Teacher Retirement System of Texas has appointed a new chief investment officer, effective from January 2020  

Head of CLO structuring leaves Sound Point
The head of CLO structuring and co-portfolio manager at Sound Point Capital Management has departed after nearly six years in the job

Former structured credit co-head Messina lands on buy side
Megan Messina, former co-head of structured credit at Bank of America, has resurfaced at an asset manager three years after leaving the bank

MidOcean Credit co-founder leaves to head PE firm's credit expansion
Multi-strategy private equity firm Siguler Guff has poached a co-founder of MidOcean Credit Partners to lead the expansion of its credit platform

US pension backs special opportunities fund
Virginia Retirement System (VRS) has committed $150 million to a special opportunities fund, managed by Ares Management Corporation  

Don’t get too comfortable. The truth is there are hundreds of things that could be catalysts for a sell-off
Just because there’s no obvious sign of a sell-off, doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. Often, market moves defy logic

If you’re worried, you should be investing in higher rated companies
Gretchen Bergstresser of CVC takes our credit quiz

‘Buying the dip’ is going to be a poor investment strategy when the next downturn comes
The next credit downturn will be shallower but more prolonged than the last, so what works will be different, too

Not all old tier one CLO managers lived up to their premier billing

Attack is the best form of defence
Yes, idiosyncratic risks are creeping into corporate credit. But speakers at Creditflux’s CLO Summit were convinced that the most creative firms will be able to thrive without taking on additional risk

Deluxe decline leaves CLOs feeling deflated
Deluxe looked decent: trading in the 90s for much of this year, with 60% of its term loan sitting in CLO portfolios. But its rapid descent underlines the dangers posed by idiosyncratic events.

Issuers fashion new outfits for junior mezz

CSO arrangers look to build on $65bn of issuance in 2019
The synthetic bespoke tranche market this year has fallen short of expectations in terms of overall issuance volume, but ends with transformative inroads being made.

JP Morgan AM moves CFO to head up private credit
The chief financial officer of JP Morgan Asset Management has switched to a newly created role as head of private credit

Private debt secondaries expected to soar in 2020
Private debt secondaries grew massively in 2019 — and more is expected this year.

Volatility wave brings index-linked CLO funds into play
Defensive positioning from loan managers has led to bifurcation in that market, but CLO fund managers are taking an attack-minded approach with ‘index-linked funds’.

Falling correlation reignites passion for index tranche trades
Dispersion in the global corporate credit market is rekindling interest in correlation trading, with dealer sources reporting that a late surge lifted 2019 index tranche volumes to $250 billion.

Pitching your structured credit fund: the three golden rules
Structured credit fund managers were given a lesson in how to market their strategies by a group of asset allocators at the Creditflux CLO Summit in New York.

Farewell Mike
After two decades, Mike Peterson, the founder and long-time editor of Creditflux, is moving on.

Activists sign up to narrowly tailored event protocol
The International Swaps & Derivatives Association has signed up 1,298 parties, including nine reference dealers, to a protocol aimed at preventing narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs).

Points up front: There are lies, damn lies and awards pitches
We’re hearing empty boasts, trash talking of their rivals and no shortage of promises that will absolutely be delivered.

Points up front: ‘We’re slow and not smart’
Politicians on the campaign trail would do well to take a leaf out of Brian Starr’s book.

Heavyweight investors poised to step up US CLO allocations
CLO issuance in 2020 could be boosted by the return of two of the asset class’s largest historic investors, sources say.

Anchorage markets CLO with MVOC test
Market value overcollateralisation (MVOC) tests are gaining prominence, with Anchorage Capital Group looking to incorporate one in its forthcoming high triple C CLO, according to marketing materials seen by Creditflux.

CLOs wrestle back control of the European loan market
The share of European loans bought by CLOs is now larger than those acquired by loan managed accounts and hedge funds, according to a research paper by Barclays.