Archives| PDF| Research |Week of Feb 7, 2022
“Every time [rates have gone higher], the loan market has become a safe harbor.”
– Jeff Bakalar, group head, leveraged credit, Voya Investment Management.
Lead Left Vodcast

🔔Subscribe to our YouTube channel: click here
“Slower, But Still Pretty Fast”
We caught up recently with our chief investment strategist at Nuveen, Brian Nick, for a conversation on markets and the economy:

“We are at an inflection point in two important respects; first, 4Q was the best quarter of 2021 from a GDP perspective. Last year growth was 5.5%, best since 1984. But even if we only get half of that rate of growth in 2022, it would still be above trend since the GFC. But the other inflection point has been the hairpin turn by the Fed. We went from one 2022 hike, maybe, back in September to 4 or 5 hikes as of today!

“It’s certainly gotten the attention of markets, starting with a tantrum in January. Everything’s selling off in unison with nowhere to hide. Markets are adjusting to a new regime with a more hawkish Fed, new valuations and a different set of winners and losers than we saw last year.”...
2022 Capital Market Outlook 

Topics include: 
Cov-lite trends
Inflation & rising interest rates
LIBOR to SOFR transition
Mega-tranche uni trend
ESG takes center stage
Private Capital Call

Q&As with Anders Ellegaard, the Head of Fixed Income at Industriens Pension.
2022 M&A Outlook
Thank you for joining us. We hope you found the webinar informative. Please click the link below to view the recording.
Readers' Say
This Week’s Question
Which team will be the winner of Super Bowl LVI?
(*All responses are confidential.)
Los Angeles Rams
Cincinnati Bengals
Last Week's Results
Which statement best describes your view of the U.S. labor market for the next six months?
Chart of the Week
Need More Stuff?
Consumer spending on goods has driven the recovery, but will it last?
Source: Nuveen, Bloomberg, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Lead with Your Left
Click here to view Newsletter sample
30-DAY FREE MEMBERSHIP

Join the leading voice of the middle market. 

- One-stop source for deals and data 
- Market trend commentary and analysis
- Exclusive interviews with thought leaders
Stat of the Week
 Loan Stats at a Glance 
PDI Picks
The secondaries puzzle
There are signs of growth in the debt secondaries market, but investors appear less then enthusiastic about new commitments...
Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis
BDC visible loans benchmark
edges lower year-to-date
Valuations of actively marked BDC loans have edged marginally lower so far in 2022, continuing the trend seen in 4Q21...
The Pulse of Private Equity
Quarterly IRRs returning to earth
PE performance bounced back strongly following the pandemic, but that momentum appears to be slowing. PitchBook’s just-released Global Fund Performance Report estimates a 3.4% quarterly IRR return for Q3 2021...
Contact: Alex Lykken / PitchBook
High-Yield Bond Statistics
Weekly fund flows source: Lipper
DL Deals: News & Analysis
Volatility primes more records
for jumbo unitranche loans
Jittery markets are priming new records for jumbo unitranche financing. At least a few mandates are in the works that exceed Galway Insurance’s $3.4 billion record last year...
Covenant Trends 
Percentage of Loans with an MFN Sunset
Private Debt Intelligence
Private debt dealflow in Canada
dries up during COVID
Momentum in Canada’s private debt market has all but disappeared over the past two years. The number of investments fell from 64 in 2020 to 40 in 2021...
Debtwire Middle-Market
High yield bond market activity cools
in January as demand wanes
Source: Debtwire Par
The high-yield (HY) bond market has seen a muted start to the new year, with issuance of USD 16.9bn across 24 deals in January. While this represents an improvement over the December 2021 trough of only USD 9.3bn...
Middle Market Deal Terms at a Glance
Select Deals in the Market
This publication is a service to our clients and friends. It is designed only to give general information on the market developments actually covered. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of recent developments or to suggest parameters for any prospective financing opportunity.