They said it

“Leading indicators for the third quarter point to some loss of momentum in economic activity”

Part of a statement from Turkey’s central bank following its shock decision to cut interest rates by 100 basis points amid 80 percent inflation in order to help spur economic growth.

First look

Explore our latest fundraising data innovation
Ok, we all know Monday mornings can be tough – so here’s a great piece of news to cheer up our platinum subscribers. Ever wanted to conduct a deep dive on our fundraising charts to find out more about all the data underlying those charts? Well, thanks to new features developed by our team of in-house experts, you can.

Among the innovations, you can now view all the different funds that make up the total raised during a specified period. You can also dig down into the ‘headline’ fundraising figure to view capital raised by specific strategies – again, with the ability to see all the funds making up the total for the strategy in question. The same applies to regions as well as strategies. But don’t take our word for it – take a good look around here.

Bond, loan issuance ticks up in Europe
The issuance of ESG bonds and loans ticked up in the second quarter of this year compared with the first but was still down on a year ago, according to the latest research from the Association for Financial Markets in Europe.

According to AFME, ESG bond and loan volume – covering ESG-labelled bonds, sustainability-linked bonds, transition bonds, green-linked loans and sustainability-linked loans – was up 16.5 percent quarter-on-quarter but down 20.7 percent year-on-year.

ESG bonds’ share of overall bond market issuance showed a similar pattern, increasing to a 19.1 percent share in the second quarter compared with 14.1 percent in the first – but down on a share of 19.5 percent in the whole of 2021.

The steepest fall in issuance was seen in the sustainability-linked bond market, which saw declines of more than 59 percent on a quarterly basis and 47 percent on a yearly basis.

Essentials

Two senior legal hires at CIFC
New York-based fund manager CIFC Asset Management, an alternative credit specialist with around $40 billion in assets under management, has bolstered its legal and compliance team with two senior appointments.

Asha Richards, who has served as CIFC’s deputy general counsel and in other legal-related capacities since 2015, has been promoted to general counsel. Lily Wicker, former chief compliance officer and associate general counsel at fund manager Sound Point Capital Management, has joined CIFC as managing director, chief compliance officer and associate general counsel.

In relation to her chief compliance officer and associate general counsel roles, Wicker reports to Richards.

UK retail investors embrace alternatives
Research from online real estate investment platform Shojin has found a growing appetite for alternative assets among UK retail investors.

The survey of 690 such investors found that half had either made an alternative asset investment in 2022 (18 percent) or were considering doing so in the coming months (32 percent). Two-fifths of the investors (39 percent) said high inflation was prompting them to consider alternatives.

Alternative assets are particularly popular with younger UK retail investors, with 41 percent of those aged between 18 and 34 having already made alternative investments this year.

“With inflation topping 10 percent and likely to rise further in the months to come, many investors are evidently weighing up their strategies carefully,” said Jatin Ondhia, chief executive officer of Shojin.

LP watch

Institution: Maine Public Employees Retirement System
Headquarters: Augusta, US
AUM: $18.8 billion
Allocation to alternatives: 40.8%

Maine Public Employees Retirement System approved a $30 million commitment to Sprott Private Resource Lending III, a contact at the pension informed Private Debt Investor. The commitment is subject to final due diligence by the pension fund.

The fund, managed by Three Valley Copper, will invest in North American companies and seek subordinated/mezzanine debt returns.

The US public pension’s recent fund commitments have predominantly targeted North American vehicles focused on a variety of sectors.

Institution: Montana Board of Investments
Headquarters: Helena, US
AUM: $23.8 billion
Allocation to private investments: 17.34%

Montana Board of Investments has confirmed a $75 million commitment to Tree Line Direct Lending III, according to its August board meeting materials.

Founded in 2014, Tree Line Capital Partners is a San Francisco-headquartered private credit asset management firm that targets mid-market and private debt investment opportunities across North America. It launched its third direct lending fund in June 2021 with a target size of $450 million, and held a first close in July 2021 on $120.8 million.

Montana Board of Investments has a 17.34 percent allocation for private investments, comprising $4.1 billion in capital, which includes both private debt and private equity.

In 2019, MBOI committed $50 million to the previous fund in the series. The fund closed in September 2019, having received $187 million in investor capital.

Today’s letter was prepared by Andy Thomson with John Bakie and Robin Blumenthal