Market Moves

  • USS launches maiden ABS mandate

    Sector developments and company hires

    Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK’s largest private pension scheme by way of assets, has launched its first mandate investing in ABS. Likely to exceed £1bn over the next couple of years, USS’s first ABS mandate will focus on investment grade publicly-listed securities.

    The move comes a year after USS Investment Management (USSIM), the wholly owned investment management .......

    Market Moves 22 June 2022

  • EIOPA consults on securitisation review

    Sector developments and company hires

    EIOPA has published a consultation paper in response to the European Commission’s call for advice (CfA) to the joint committee (JC) of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) regarding a review of the securitisation prudential framework (SCI 28 October 2021). Under the CfA, the Commission sought the assistance of the JC to assess the recent performance of the rules on capital .......

    Market Moves 16 June 2022

  • Industry CLO e-trading platform unveiled

    Sector developments and company hires

    Citi and Bank of America, joined by Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Moody’s Analytics, have launched Octaura Holdings. The objective of the company is to create the first open-market electronic trading platform for syndicated loans and CLOs.

    Built in collaboration with software development platform Genesis Global, Octaura aims to provide comprehensive trading solutions with natively .......

    Market Moves 14 June 2022

  • Aon hires new strategic growth leader

    Sector developments and company hires

    Aon has named Joanna Parsons as strategic growth leader of UK capital advisory within the firm’s reinsurance solutions business, reporting to Ben Love, UK strategic growth leader for reinsurance solutions. In her new role, Parsons will help clients to understand the value of different growth, capital and reinsurance strategies, including in the securitisation space. Based in London, Parsons joins Aon from .......

    Market Moves 10 June 2022

  • Landmark Hong Kong cat bond closed

    Sector developments and company hires

    Peak Re has closed a US$150m 144a catastrophe bond via Black Kite Re, marking the first-ever such deal issued by a Hong Kong special purpose insurer. The cat bond is also expected to be the first to utilise the Pilot Insurance-linked Securities Grant Scheme introduced by the Hong Kong government last year (SCI 4 May 2021).

    As part of .......

    Market Moves 7 June 2022

  • MidOcean bags PE bigwig

    Sector developments and company hires

    Erik Oken has joined MidOcean Partners as chairman of its private equity business, based in New York. He will work directly with the firm’s private equity investment team, with the aim of adding valuable senior insights and oversight to its thematic investment approach. Prior to joining MidOcean, Oken spent over 30 years at JPMorgan, most recently serving as global .......

    Market Moves 1 June 2022

  • Franklin Templeton to acquire Alcentra from BNY Mellon

    Sector developments and company hires

    Franklin Templeton is set to acquire the European credit and private debt manager, Alcentra, from BNY Mellon. The acquisition of Alcentra and its US$38bn in assets under management will see the expansion of Franklin Templeton’s US alternative credit specialist investment manager, Benefit Street Partners, and ramping up of its presence and capabilities in Europe. The transaction will increase the size of .......

    Market Moves 31 May 2022

  • Call for more 'hard' credit enhancement

    Sector developments and company hires

    The rise in Euribor swap rates will lead to materially lower excess spread for euro-denominated consumer ABS that close in the near term, Fitch suggests. The rating agency warns that higher hedging costs at closing mean that more ‘hard’ credit enhancement is needed to achieve the same ratings, particularly for high investment-grade ratings.

    “How long this situation persists will depend on .......

    Market Moves 26 May 2022

  • Arnold & Porter hires new partner

    Sector developments and company hires

    Arnold & Porter welcomes a new partner to its corporate and finance practice in New York in a move to bolster its offering to lenders and borrowers. Scott Berson joins the firm from Norton Rose Fulbright, with more than 25 years of experience across both secured and unsecured financings. Berson holds expertise on receivables-based transactions across different industries and products .......

    Market Moves 24 May 2022

  • Wilmington Trust adds new hires

    Sector developments and company hires

    Wilmington Trust has announced a further expansion to its CLO and loan administration division with three new senior hires. Michael Mooneyham, Ryan Murray, and Madhura Swadi all join the firm in an effort to boost the development of client relationships and increase innovation across the team. They will each join the firm as vps, with Mooneyham and Murrary leading the .......

    Market Moves 23 May 2022

  • Stonehill announces leadership additions

    Sector developments and company hires

    Stonehill is set to expand its commercial lending business with four new senior executive hires to its leadership team. Daniel Siegel, Greg Koenig, Nisu Mehta, and Taylor Pike each join Stonehill from Ardent with several decades of real estate business shared between them. The firm hopes the new hires will assist in widening its product offering across all real estate .......

    Market Moves 19 May 2022

  • Principles-based cybersecurity approach urged

    Sector developments and company hires

    The SFA has responded to the US SEC’s proposed new rules to enhance and standardise disclosures made by public companies regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and incident reporting. The association believes the proposed rule to be focused almost exclusively on corporate registrants, ignoring the extensive fundamental and technical differences between the potential impact of cybersecurity risks and incidents .......

    Market Moves 17 May 2022

  • Transportation investment platform founded

    Sector developments and company hires

    Onex has established a new platform focused on investing in transportation-related assets used for land, air, marine and industrial applications. The strategy will involve investments in hard assets with long lives, contractual cashflows and an element of inflation protection.

    The firm has recruited Wes Dick to lead the strategy as md and head of Onex Transportation Partners, based in San .......

    Market Moves 16 May 2022

  • 'Investor-friendly' features introduced

    Sector developments and company hires

    Rising interest rates and widening spreads have spurred changes in US non-prime RMBS structures that introduce investor-friendly features for senior noteholders, Fitch reports. The move comes amid growing concern over coupon cap shortfalls and lower availability of excess spread.

    As such, many issuers have reduced the aggregate servicing fee to 25bp (which historically has been 50bp), while some have introduced .......

    Market Moves 11 May 2022

  • ITRN 'club deal' debuts

    Sector developments and company hires

    NN Investment Partners (NN IP) has launched the first vintage of a customised solution to invest in trade finance through its Insured Trade Receivables Notes (ITRN) strategy. Structured as a club deal and delivered via a mutual debt vehicle (a fonds commun de titrisation), the offering was specifically designed for a group of high-profile insitutional investors in France, with initial .......

    Market Moves 9 May 2022

  • ICE to acquire Black Knight

    Sector developments and company hires

    Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is set to acquire the software, data, and analytics company, Black Knight. Unanimously agreed by the boards of both companies, the definitive agreement to acquire Black Knight would help boost Intercontinental Exchange’s rapidly expanding mortgage technology business. Black Knight is valued by the cash and stock transaction to hold a market value of US$13.1bn, which translates to US$85 per .......

    Market Moves 5 May 2022

  • UHNW securitisation under scrutiny

    Sector developments and company hires

    UHNW securitisation under scrutiny
    Pomerantz has filed a class action lawsuit against Credit Suisse Group and certain of its officers in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, on behalf of purchasers of Credit Suisse securities between 19 March 2021 and 25 March 2022 inclusive. The case seeks to recover damages caused by the defendants’ alleged violations .......

    Market Moves 3 May 2022

  • MSCI and MarketAxess collaborate

    Sector developments and company hires

    MSCI has announced its entry into a strategic collaboration with MarketAxess to establish new portfolio analytics solutions and fixed income indexes. The two firms hope to improve the fixed income investment process, empower investors, and drive innovation through their collaboration by developing portfolio optimisation, trading, and analytics tools. The collaboration will rely on MarketAxess’ fixed income indexes and AI-informed pricing .......

    Market Moves 29 April 2022

  • Annaly Capital Management to sell middle market lending portfolio

    Annaly Capital Management has announced its entry into an agreement to sell its middle market lending portfolio to the global alternative investment manager, Ares Capital Management. The US$2.4bn transaction represents Annaly’s middle market assets across the balance sheet of primarily first and second lien loans in defensive, counter-cyclical industries, as well as assets managed for third parties. The transaction offers .......

    Market Moves 27 April 2022

  • Ex-employees resurrect Highland

    Sector developments and company hires

    Ex-employees resurrect Highland
    A trio of former senior Highland Capital Management portfolio managers have resurrected the firm under a new moniker, Highland ERA Management. Patrick Daugherty – who was partner, senior CLO portfolio manager and head of distressed/special situations at Highland – is partnering with ex-Highland team members Kevin Rourke and Niles Chura in the venture.

    Through a sub-advisory .......

    Market Moves 22 April 2022

  • ESG cat bond fund launched

    Sector developments and company hires

    Paschal Brooks and Justin Hull have co-founded Sustain ILS Management. Headquartered in New Jersey, the firm is an independent investment manager with a focus on sustainability and ESG within the catastrophe bond and reinsurance sectors. Brooks was previously ceo of AlphaCat Capital, which he joined in December 2011 as a portfolio manager. Before that, he worked at Goldman Sachs and .......

    Market Moves 21 April 2022

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