Primary market roars into life
The primary CLO market pickup that started in August continued strongly in September, both in Europe and the US. Although the overall direction was the same on both sides of the Atlantic, the type of activity was quite different.

Arcmont and Barings land direct lending doubles
Readers with long memories may recall that Creditflux used to award a handful of prizes for direct lending funds at the Manager Awards. But this year those gongs were spun out into their own glittering gala.

CLO funds make best of a bad situation
It can’t get any worse can it? Well, it did in 2022, when credit spreads kept moving wider. Still, CLO funds were able to withstand the pressure, and they outperformed other credit strategies

Star names join Barclays as it pushes into CLOs

Which flavour do you favour?
We asked four direct lenders for their opinions on four fictional European borrowers operating in software, food, consumer loans and retail – and found they had similar tastes.

Investors prefer direct lending to CLOs
For the first time in the history of Creditflux’s credit allocator survey, investors have voted direct lending the best investment in credit. CLOs came joint second. By Michelle D’souza

Leading fund: Lupus Alpha CLO Opportunity Notes I
Single-B CLO trades boost Lupus Alpha asset Management

Think outside the box
While the US market credit is the most liquid and the UK is considered the home of European direct lending, there are opportunities further a?eld

Investing ethically is worth it
Managers could see less volatile returns as a result of their increasing adoption of ESG-friendly portfolios; meanwhile direct lending is spreading across Europe

Heading tighter into uncertainty
Tightening loan spreads are making the job of a CLO manager harder in both the US and Europe. But credit volatility could be on the horizon

European direct lenders strike €25 million sweet spot
Many new entrants to the European direct lending market are finding that they can put assets to work by making loans in the €20 million to €30 million range

Credit funds take direct action
Direct lending funds are springing up around Europe. But what do managers mean by direct lending? And what returns can their investors expect?