The Structured Credit Interview
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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
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 .......
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Value covered
LibreMax Capital cio Greg Lippmann and ABS head Kevin Tyler...
Q: How has the evolution of the banking system and regulatory environment over time shaped private credit markets?
The Structured Credit Interview 16 November 2023
GL: Before the global financial crisis (GFC), there were certain aggressive financial products which enabled consumers to become overleveraged, as well as light bank capital charges for investment bank holdings of structured products, which ultimately brought Lehman Brothers to default and spurred .......
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Ares flies high
Top alt credit investor predicts CRT boom
Ares Management, founded in 1997, is a leading investor in alternative credit products. It has US$395bn under management, of which some US$32bn, or a little under 10%, is invested in alternative credit. It recently closed Pathfinder II, one of its alternative credit funds devoted to illiquid instruments, with US$6.6bn in commitments, measurably more than the US$5bn target. It is also almost .......
The Structured Credit Interview 14 November 2023
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A global market
Matthew Moniot, co-head of credit risk sharing at Man GPM, answers SCI's questions
Q: Could you tell us about your recent move to Man GPM?
A: We joined Man Group in 2022, from Elanus Capital, the firm I founded back in 2010. By 2020 two things were apparent. Firstly the SRT market had grown significantly and was starting to attract large, institutional managers and secondly, technology, an area of focus at Elanus, would be an .......
The Structured Credit Interview 8 November 2023
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Starting strong
Leland Hart, portfolio manager and cio of performing credit...
Q: Warwick Capital Partners closed its inaugural BSL CLO transaction – the US$400m Warwick Capital CLO 1 – last month. As a new entrant, how does Warwick’s strategy compare to that of existing managers in the market?
The Structured Credit Interview 16 October 2023
A: It’s a pretty seminal time in the CLO market – when risk retention reared its head in the US and Europe and .......
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Saying hi to HEI
Cara Newman, head of structured finance at Hometap, answers SCI's questions
Q: Hometap, the home equity investment (HEI) fintech, is expanding into the structured finance market (SCI 7 July). What are Hometap’s motivations behind entering the securitisation market, and why now?
The Structured Credit Interview 9 October 2023
A: For Hometap, it's always about supporting homeowners and fulfilling our mission on their behalf. We view a strong structured finance capability as an important avenue to the capital .......
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Rhapsody in retail
CMBS offers liquidity for non-mall retail borrowers
Since the restrictions imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic and probably before, the US commercial real estate (CRE) sector has by and large been in the doldrums. But experienced CRE investors can find value and remain funded by a combination of traditional bank loans and CMBS financing.
Gary Rappaport is nothing if not experienced: he has been a CRE investor in the .......
The Structured Credit Interview 19 September 2023
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Entrepreneurial spirit
Colin Reddy, md, head of financial institutions and advisory at Howden CAP, answers SCI's questions
Q: You joined Howden CAP in April from Mizuho, where you executed a number of strategic capital and balance sheet transactions for the firm’s clients (SCI 12 April). What attracted you to move to the insurance side of the risk transfer market?
The Structured Credit Interview 9 June 2023
A: I began my career in insurance, but I have spent the last 20 years in banking .......
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Best interests
Eric Brown, head of Performance Trust's Institutional Group, answers SCI's questions
Q: Performance Trust announced its entry into the CLO market with the creation of its new CLO trading desk last month (SCI 11 April). What makes now the right time?
The Structured Credit Interview 9 May 2023
A: CLOs are something that we’ve been looking into for quite some time now and figuring out the right time for us to get involved isn’t necessarily market-based, but .......
