Fund performance
Good month for CLO funds sees six in top 10 as Axiom sets pace

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

You seem familiar
The overlap between European CLOs has risen to 51.6%, but the largest issuers are only slightly more aligned to their peers at 55.19% — so bonds are proving to be an important differentiator

Woah, we’re halfway there
Judging by the 2020 vintage, European CLO overlap is 50%. But varied approaches to holding bonds and the many loans managers turn down mean there are ways for issuers to outperform

Moving fast pays off for hedge funds
2020 was an up and down year in credit, and credit hedge fund managers had to move quickly to capture opportunities from the dislocations that inevitably opened up

Rolling the dice on Turkey and Italy
Gambling specialists with operations around the Mediterranean are facing political risks and currency falls – but there are opportunities to hit the jackpot if investors play their cards right

Star names join Barclays as it pushes into CLOs

Aircraft lessors: gathering clouds lead to talk of turbulence
Aircraft leasing companies have been cruising over the past two years as passenger numbers grew, but rising interest rates and trade tariff concerns are making some bondholders nervous

Higher leverage is on the horizon - but, for now, take in the MFN sunsets
It’s clear from our analysis of most favoured nation protections and sunsets that strong demand for loans is enabling borrowers to insist on advantageous terms even as they increase leverage

Indonesian property developers: cracks reopen as liquidity dries up
Indonesian developers didn’t fully recover from the 2013 taper tantrum. And now, as development costs and interest payments eat into their capital, they are looking far from stable

Drug makers: desperately seeking pain relief
With Teva’s profitable Copaxone being undermined by cheaper alternatives, the company is in need of a pick-me-up. By Euan Hagger

US pensions look beyond equities
US pension funds dramatically lowered their allocations to equity in the decade ending in 2016 as they diversified into illiquid and alternative assets. By Grace Jennings-Edquist

US power generators: Falling prices spark bankruptcies
As renewables and gas undercut traditional power generators, bond holders are preparing for price shocks. By Euan Hagger

Payday: Investors go for broke on regulatory bet
New regulations could seriously hamper US payday lenders – but bond holders are betting the rules won’t be enacted

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

Technicals frustrate managers
In the US, high yield managers unable to buy into commodities have missed a rally. Their European counterparts have been hit by falling yields

High yield bond covenants: losing the shackles
“Lousy and getting worse,” is the assessment by investment managers and analysts of covenant quality in the super-heated US high yield bond market

Viewpoint - Consolidation: part II
Stone Tower’s James Galowski believes CDO manager consolidation has only just begun