We noted last week that the markets may be guilty of complacency on Italy’s budget, and so it proved. As mooted in the initial spending plan, an increase in the budget deficit to 2.4% was proposed by the government, significantly higher than the 2% limit specified by the European Commission. This was tempered by the…
Leveraged loan volume tumbles in 3Q18; Arrangers back end jumbo deals to September Despite the strong market technicals which continued to define the US loan market, 3Q18 leveraged loan volume tumbled 57% quarter over quarter with US$176.6bn of assets completed in retail syndication. Some of this was not altogether surprising given the traditional slowdown during…
PE fundraising trending down Download PitchBook’s Report here. The PE fundraising trail hasn’t been too difficult to navigate lately. For one, most newly raised funds are larger in size than their predecessors. About 69% of the funds that closed last year were larger than their predecessors, and the percentage was even higher for 2016 vintages—76%. Moreover,…
Chasing special returns A poll asked our New York Forum audience to name the most promising strategy over the next year. It produced an interesting answer. “Predicting the end of the cycle is very difficult, if not impossible.” So said Cliffwater CEO Stephen Nesbitt in his introductory remarks as day one chair of our New…
Will Europe Direct Lending Activity Outpace North America? Direct lending is a relatively young strategy, but has gained traction in the past five years or so, quickly becoming one of the more dominant private debt fund types. As with the larger private debt universe, North America and Europe account for the majority of direct lending…
The appeal of populist, often nativist agenda to electorates disgruntled with economic stagnation and rapid demographic change has been underestimated in recent years, not least by bond markets. Nonetheless, the performance of Italy’s credit spreads over the summer suggests investors are reluctant to wholly embrace political risk aversion…. Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member?
Primary yields widen in 3Q18 to levels not seen in over two years Average primary yields on first-lien institutional term loans in 3Q18 are at their highest levels since 1Q16. At 6.44%, the average yield assuming a three-year term to repayment on first-lien institutional term loans is 67bp higher than 2Q18’s average. Unlike prior quarters,…
Hiding the target Many fund managers are now not revealing how much their vehicle is hoping to raise. Managers may be becoming more secretive as the private credit pool has proliferated, as many now do not reveal fund targets, according to PDI data. A full 30 percent of funds in market have not disclosed their…
Private Debt Capital Distributions Reach Record Highs Private debt has a history of strong returns, and the asset class has consistently met, and often exceeded, investors’ performance expectations. In fact, according to Preqin’s latest survey of institutional investors, 91% of investors said that private debt has met their performance expectations over the past 12 months,…
PE firms are no longer clubbing Download PitchBook’s Report here. Club deals are something of a sticky issue in the private equity world. PE firms themselves don’t mind them—the risk is spread around—nor do lenders mind them, who also presume less risk with more reputable investors involved. Dry powders levels have skyrocketed, and club deals allow…