Market updates and sector developments

Charlotte-headquartered global asset manager Barings has entered into a partnership with CLO-focused private credit investor Lakemore Partners. Lakemore, which primarily takes super-majority control equity positions in new US CLOs, says the partnership will expand its global reach, deepen its institutional client base and boost its Aquatine CLO equity platform.

Barings has around US$351bn in assets under management, spanning public equities and fixed income, as well as alternative assets. Of this, around US$75bn is accounted for by broadly syndicated loans, CLOs and high yield bonds. The firm says the deal will provide it with increased flexibility in light of evolving market conditions.

Lakemore invests on behalf of clients across the US, Europe and Middle East, and it has offices in Phoenix, London, Dubai and Zurich. The manager has around US$1.4bn in assets under management, most of which is on behalf of institutional clients.

In other news…

KBRA and T-Rex partner up

KBRA is preparing for continued growth in private capital by partnering with fintech data platform, T-Rex. By incorporating T-Rex’s surveillance, deal reporting and research technology into its existing data infrastructure, KBRA hopes to enable the development of the private credit ABS space and facilitate increasing efficiencies for its private credit ratings business. 

The multiyear collaboration intends to improve the data fragmentation challenge, and support the increasing role of private credit in ABS. KBRA says these securitisations can both improve liquidity in the marketplace and better meet investors needs in respect to public and 144A deals.

Panagram launches second CLO ETF

Panagram Structured Asset Management has launched its second ETF focusing on triple-A rated CLOs. The fund, named Panagram AAA CLO ETF and trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the CLOX ticker, will donate a portion of its management fees to Mosholu Montefiore Community Center in New York. CLOX has a 0.20% expense ratio and aims to provide investors with exposure to a diverse portfolio of industries, sectors and institutional loan managers.