The Structured Credit Interview
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CLO manager corner series: Investcorp
CLO market faces loan supply challenges, but outlook remains strong
A limited supply of new loan issuance could challenge the CLO market in the future, with the development of a private equity pipeline needed, according to Investcorp.
Barry Lane, managing director of CLO new issuance in Europe at Investcorp, tells SCI that despite this risk, the current number of deals being marketed, as well as those that have .......
The Structured Credit Interview 18 November 2024
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Tried and true
Michelle Manuel and Michael Schewitz, portfolio managers at Investec, answer SCI's questions
Q: What do you look for in a CLO manager?
The Structured Credit Interview 28 October 2024
Michelle Manuel: With a 70% US middle market portfolio, we tend to look for managers who we know have been through a number of credit cycles. When we look at Europe, we choose managers we know or are comfortable with. However, we mainly tend to buy in Europe when the .......
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Local network
Jonas Hybinette, co-founder and co-head of business developm...
Q: RoundShield, a private investment firm specialising in asset-backed credit across Western European markets, recently closed its fifth European special opportunities fund (Fund V) with over US$1bn in commitments - surpassing its fundraising target by nearly US$150m. Why does the firm focus on Western Europe and how do you identify opportunities in these jurisdictions?
The Structured Credit Interview 17 October 2024
A: Driss Benkirane, our managing partner, and I .......
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SRT issuer profile: NatWest
Rob Lloyd, head of balance sheet management at NatWest Comme...
Q: How long have you been involved in SRT and what were the drivers behind your first trade?
A: SRT is not a new concept, the bank has been users of the product for some time. This year we are embarking on the tenth issuance of our Nightingale programme.
Q: Do you view SRT as a strategic .......
The Structured Credit Interview 14 October 2024
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CLO manager corner: Sculptor Capital Management
Adeel Shafiqullah, head of European CLO management, discusse...
The launch of Sculptor Capital Management’s captive CLO equity platform in April, secured by an anchor commitment from Rithm Capital Corp., is a “strong validation” of the firm's support of Sculptor’s CLO management business as well as the ability to be “opportunistic and nimble” with capital.
Speaking to SCI, Adeel Shafiqullah, head of European CLO management at Sculptor, says: .......
The Structured Credit Interview 19 September 2024
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Seeds of evolution
illimity's Lionetti answers SCI's questions
Tech-focused Italian banking group illimity recently announced the structuring of two new loan securitisation programmes to support SMEs and agricultural businesses in Italy, following on from the launch of its first securitisation programme last year. Claudia Lewis speaks to Fabiano Lionetti, head of investment banking at the bank, about its partnership with alternative-finance-focused fintech advisor Crescitalia and the evolution of .......
The Structured Credit Interview 12 September 2024
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Strength on several fronts
Ninety One's Barua answers SCI's questions
New issuance CLO volumes are on course to challenge previous full-year records and the market is well-positioned to weather any recessionary fears, according to Rondeep Barua, securitised products analyst at Ninety One. Barua speaks to Camilla Vitanza about the asset class’s prospects and anticipated trends for the rest of the year
Q: How would you summarise 2024 so .......
The Structured Credit Interview 11 September 2024
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CLO manager corner: Antares Capital
Katzenstein and Pitke discuss the firm's liquid credit platform and plans for the future
Antares Capital’s liquid credit platform, which launched last year and today is a BSL CLO issuance platform, is a “natural extension” of its private credit CLO platform, allowing the company to offer a broader opportunity set of products to clients, according to the firm.
Speaking about its business plan, Seth Katzenstein, head of liquid credit at Antares tells .......
The Structured Credit Interview 28 August 2024
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Angel in ETFs
Angel Oak's active structured credit ETF takes off
The Structured Credit Interview 7 August 2024
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Esoteric excellence
Reed Smith doubling down on esoterics
Top structured finance law firm Reed Smith has a developed esoteric practice, but is looking to beef up even more, says newcomer Jeffrey Stern.
“This is one of the focuses within the structured finance practice, and I expect to .......
The Structured Credit Interview 6 August 2024
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Bereft of banks
MBS languishes as the market waits for the banks and the Fed
Like many in the US ABS market, portfolio manager Brendan Doucette is waiting for the Federal Reserve to issue new guidance on Basel III Endgame (B3E).
He runs a US$1.5bn book at Boston-based GW&K Investment Management, 90% composed of agency .......
The Structured Credit Interview 19 June 2024
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Special situations
Jean-Francois Leclerc and Carlo Perri of Polar Asset Managem...
Q: Can you give us some background to SRT at Polar?
CP: Polar has been investing in SRTs since the mid-2010s and more broadly in structured credit for over 15 years. Historically, we have focused on what we call ‘special situations’ - new issuers, new asset classes, innovative structures and difficult market conditions.Last year we added JF Leclerc .......
The Structured Credit Interview 18 June 2024
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Vintage matters
Adam Castle, partner and portfolio manager at Lord Abbett, answers SCI's questions
Q: When did Lord Abbett begin investing in securitised products? Was there a specific driver behind its decision to enter the market?
The Structured Credit Interview 14 March 2024
A: Lord Abbett has been a multi-sector fixed income investor since the 1970s and we started investing in securitised products in the early 1990s, so the firm has a long history of evaluating opportunities in a wide range .......
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Growth expectations
Alastair Pickett, co-portfolio manager of Chenavari's risk sharing strategy, answers SCI's questions
Q: As the team prepares to launch a new fund around its risk sharing strategy within the next few months, can you give us some background to SRT at Chenavari?
The Structured Credit Interview 12 March 2024
A: Our risk sharing business sits alongside and is complementary to our private credit investment strategy, through which we cover both portfolio acquisitions and warehouse financing extended to our non-bank .......
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Pilot transaction
IDB expands focus and lending capacity to the private sector
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the main source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean, recently completed a risk-transfer transaction using credit-insurance protection with private insurance companies to optimise the use of resources and unlock capital for additional lending to the region. This is the IDB's first such transaction with the private sector.
Previously, the IDB .......
The Structured Credit Interview 25 January 2024
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First-mover advantage
SCI recently asked Georgi Stoev, head of Northern Europe &am...
The EIF invested over €3bn in the securitisation market last year, of which €2.8bn was executed in a synthetic format. In terms of jurisdictions, the fund continues to strengthen its engagement across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with Romania (accounting for over €700m of investments), Bulgaria (close to €500m) and Poland (€450m) topping the investment list.
Q: Is .......
The Structured Credit Interview 10 January 2024
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Accretive process
Wasif Kazi, structurer at UniCredit, forecasts continued gro...
Q: Given that 2022 was widely viewed as a breakthrough year in terms of CEE capital relief trade issuance, is the Polish market still a trend to monitor, or is it becoming an established jurisdiction for SRT transactions?
The Structured Credit Interview 5 January 2024
A: I would say it's somewhere in between the two. We see more transactions each year coming out of Poland. We see .......
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Generating traction in a stalled market
Matteo Cidonio, managing partner at GWM Group, answers SCI's...
Q: The past couple of years have been a very difficult period for the CRE market globally. You recently said there are opportunities for investors who target the right real estate categories and more specifically segments, even in the current market. What would you see as being the top segments in Europe currently, and why?
The Structured Credit Interview 11 December 2023
A: Commercial real estate has .......
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Positioned for quality and liquidity
Kate Galustian, lead portfolio manager for BlackRock Senior...
Q: When you announced BlackRock Senior Securitised Fund (SCI 20 November), BlackRock stated that this new vehicle will predominantly invest across continental Europe and the UK. To what extent was that driven by current opportunities specific to that geographic market, and could you provide an outline as to what those are?
The Structured Credit Interview 30 November 2023
A: The fund was designed in collaboration with .......
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Global goals
Chris Whitcombe, head of European and US ABS at Challenger I...
Q: Challenger IM recently launched its first securitisation-only investment fund – the Challenger IM Global ABS Fund (SCI 1 November). What makes now the right time?
The Structured Credit Interview 20 November 2023
A: At Challenger IM, we manage assets for leading global and Australian institutions. We have been actively investing in ABS since 2005, including the private ABS market for the last decade. So, although .......