Fund performance
In February, CLO funds once again claimed the majority of top positions in our fund ranking — this time taking eight of the top 10 spots (see table below).

Wave of legal hires becomes a tsunami
In February alone legal heavyweights Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, Fried Frank, Kirkland & Ellis, Proskauer Rose and White & Case all announced the arrival of partners in the credit space

Permira confirms co-heads of credit platform
European alternative credit manager Permira Credit has named David Hirschmann and Ariadna Stefanescu as co-heads, effective immediately, as parent company Permira makes plans to expand the credit business

November 2023 US Leveraged Highlights
Debtwire today releases the November 2023 US Leveraged Highlights, featuring key trends in the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets

November 2023 European Leveraged Highlights
Debtwire today releases the November 2023 European Leveraged Highlights, containing key trends in the leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets

US loan market rallies despite increasing stress and default rates
Casual observers of the US broadly syndicated loan market may be forgiven for feeling a little confused at the moment. Despite rising default rates and growing stress, loan prices continue to rally, and the primary pipeline is busy.

ICG taps Apollo partner as head of US liquid credit
The new head of US liquid credit has been tasked with helping grow ICG's US credit business

FCA greenlights synthetic Libor
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has given the go-ahead for ‘synthetic Libor’ as it creates a bridge for Libor contracts that do not have any hard-wired language referencing Sofr. 

PGIM's global CLO chief to become CEO of fixed income in 2024
John Vibert, who oversees PGIM’s global CLO business, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of PGIM's fixed income unit effective January 2024

Alcentra structured credit portfolio manager steps up as primary PM for two funds
Alcentra has promoted the official, with Hiram Hamilton and Suhail Shaikh no longer the primary portfolio managers of BNY Mellon Alcentra Global Multi-Strategy Credit Fund and Hamilton no longer primary portfolio manager of BNY Mellon Alcentra Global Credit Income 2024 Target Term Fund 

Fund performance: CLO tranches move up
April returns managed a partial bounce back after a tumultuous March. 82% of funds listed in the Creditflux database made positive returns, showing at least small signs of recovery after 90% of all funds listed posted negative returns in March

Private credit wins investor as Maryland pension introduces 5% allocation
Howard County Retirement has introduced a new bucket to the private credit asset class, reducing its core bond and hedge fund exposure to facilitate this measure, according to board documents seen by Creditflux

CLOs on lookout as Neiman recovery signals slump and DC confirms credit event
Five-year CDS referencing Neiman Marcus widened by four points to 95.25 points up front, according to IHS Markit, as the Americas Determinations Committee confirmed the US retailer has triggered a bankruptcy credit event

Frontier bankruptcy dials up pressure for 90 CLOs
Nine CLO managers hold $217 million of Frontier Communications’ debt across 90 CLOs, as the telecommunications company filed for Chapter 11 protection in the US Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York

Fortress digests CraftWorks bankruptcy
CraftWorks Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, with Fortress Investments holding all of the Tennessee restaurant operator's first lien debt - of which over half is in middle market CLOs. The New York-based firm has submitted a “stalking horse” bid to buy CraftWorks' assets

VIP Cinema makes uncomfortable viewing for CLOs as it's reeled into Chapter 11
CLOs hold $52.9 million of debt in seatmaker VIP Cinema Holdings, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware

US loan trading: McDermott downgrade leads to CLO outflows as managers board rail road firm
US freight railroads operator Genesee & Wyoming allocated its $2.55 billion term loan in November, making it the most popular issuer in the month. And CLO managers were sceptical of the outlook for McDermott Technology - signalled by $185.9 net outflows - after Moody's downgraded its corporate family rating from B3 to Caa2