The Credit Edge by Bloomberg Intelligence

Tariff chaos has tossed retailers into a crisis similar to Covid in 2020, leaving them unable to plan ahead, according to AlixPartners, the financial advisory and global consulting firm. “It’s a little crazy and retailers are canceling orders,” Holly Etlin, a partner at the firm and restructuring veteran, tells Bloomberg News’ Reshmi Basu and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Stephen Flynn in the latest Credit ...

Global market turmoil opens a window for credit investors in companies with too much debt, according to London-based Aptior Capital, which specializes in distressed debt and rescue finance. “All this volatility, it throws up even more opportunities,” founder Rudi Singh tells Bloomberg News’ Giulia Morpurgo and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Tolu Alamutu in the latest Credit Edge podcast. “These are very good...

Retail investors aren’t yet ready to jump on the private credit bandwagon, according to Janus Henderson. “The skepticism there should be real,” John Kerschner, the firm’s head of US securitized products, talking about exchange-traded funds focused on direct lending. “The underlying isn’t nearly as liquid and hasn’t really been tested throughout a real dislocation credit cycle,” Kersch...

Fundamental and technical pressures on credit markets are growing as trade wars escalate, according to JPMorgan Asset Management. “We just need to be paid a little bit more for the uncertainty risk now in the market,” says Lisa Coleman, the firm’s head of global investment-grade corporate credit. “The technicals from where we were at the beginning of the year have deteriorated,” Coleman, who manages $7...

Global portfolio managers are seeking debt investment alternatives in China and Europe amid mounting volatility in America, according to CreditSights. “The US seems to be sneezing an awful lot lately and the rest of the world is saying, ‘Well how do we mask up and try to defend ourselves against this?” said Winnie Cisar, the firm’s global head of strategy. “If US exceptionalism is not on the table, the...

Amid heightened volatility in American capital markets, there are more attractive private debt options elsewhere, according to alternative investment manager BC Partners. “In 25 years of doing this, it’s probably the first time we’re seeing actually decent relative value in Europe,” said Ted Goldthorpe, the firm’s head of credit. “The US has always provided better relative value in every environm...

Private credit is getting squeezed by excess demand for limited deals, but AllianceBernstein says it will continue to pay more than publicly traded debt. “Even as base rates have come in, that premium remains fairly persistent,” said Matthew Bass, the firm’s head of private alternatives. “If the premium gets too small, then as an investor, you’re going to start to question: ‘Why am I locking my c...

The best credit opportunity lies in middle-market collateralized loan obligation equity, according to Carlyle. “It is a newer market and not everyone’s investing and chasing that asset class,” said Lauren Basmadjian, the firm’s global head of liquid credit. “We’re seeing mid-to-high teens IRRs,” Basmadjian tells Bloomberg News’ James Crombie and Bloomberg Intelligence’s Mike Cam...

As trade wars intensify, inflation persists and geopolitical risks spread, Pimco is finding value in the debt of large US banks and leisure-sector companies. “There are some really strong spots within lodging, cruise lines and the like,” said Sonali Pier, who focuses on multi-sector credit opportunities and is a senior member of the $2 trillion asset manager’s leveraged finance team. Pimco is meanwhile cautious on...

Goldman Sachs is advising credit investors to protect against losses amid expensive valuations and rising geopolitical turmoil. “The cost of hedging is the lowest it’s been in probably a very long time — use that to your advantage,” said Lotfi Karoui, the firm’s chief credit strategist. “Look at that left tail of the distribution — the known unknowns, the unknown unknowns, the things that c...

Corporate debt is well placed to withstand global turmoil caused by new US trade policy, according to Crescent Capital Group. “There is going to be a lot of volatility, but I think the markets are now becoming more accustomed to not reacting to those headlines,” said Chris Wright, the firm’s president and head of private debt. “Credit markets are pretty stable,” he tells Bloomberg News’ James Cro...

As rates stay high, bank lenders retreat and volatility rises, Gramercy Funds Management sees significant growth in private credit to developing nations. “We’re just scratching the surface in emerging markets,” said Robert Koenigsberger, the firm’s founder, chief investment officer and managing partner, referring to private debt. “It’s really exciting to go deeper and broader in EM as an asset cl...

UK-based Pemberton Asset Management has widened its scope to stay ahead in the increasingly competitive world of private credit. “You’ve got to have a range of products that people think are relevant and attractive,” said Symon Drake-Brockman, the firm’s co-founder and managing partner, referring to net asset value financing, collateralized loan obligations and risk sharing, among other businesses. “We...

Centerbridge Scans Consumer Pain as Inflation Lingers (Podcast)Stubbornly high prices are a threat to consumers that could bleed through to credit markets, according to Centerbridge. “The rising cost of goods and interest rates will have an impact,” said Aaron Fink, the firm’s head of asset finance. “To the extent we see deterioration in jobs, and in the labor market more broadly, that’ll be problemati...

Debt spreads are set to tighten further as demand for yield rises and net supply remains constrained, according to First Eagle Alternative Credit, which is cautious about the year ahead. “Stay conservative — that’s the mantra that we’re operating under,” said Jim Fellows, the firm’s co-president and chief investment officer, referring to leveraged loans, private credit and high-yield bonds. &ldqu...

A sustained period of elevated interest rates has the potential to cause pain in the fastest-growing part of corporate debt, according to RBC Global Asset Management. “We are concerned about how the direct lending private credit space would deal with a higher-for-longer world,” said Andrzej Skiba, the firm’s head of US fixed income. “You’re much better off in public markets because the leverage profile...

Private credit could become a $40 trillion market in five years, according to Apollo Global Management. “We’re going to get there really soon,” Akila Grewal, the firm’s global head of credit product, tells Bloomberg News’ James Crombie and Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matt Geudtner in the latest Credit Edge podcast. Currently, “we estimate it’s a $20 trillion market,” she adds, refe...

Credit spreads are poised to hit record tight levels in the first quarter, even as debt issuance rises, according to participants in this special 2025 outlook edition of the Credit Edge podcast, hosted by Bloomberg’s James Crombie. We discuss bonds, loans, private credit — and bourbon — with the following guests: Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at the Schwab Center for Financial Research; Ana Arsov, glo...

Swelling demand for limited supply of corporate bonds and loans could spell trouble for credit markets, according to PineBridge Investments. “The thing that gives me a lot of pause right now — and some concern — is the lack of net new supply versus the amount of demand out there,” said Jeremy Burton, the firm’s portfolio manager for US high yield and leveraged loans. “That leads to the risk that the market as a whole will make subp...