The Public Sector Pension Investment Board, one of Canada’s largest pension funds, is growing its private debt team to target more on investments in distressed companies. Montreal-based PSP employed Francis Blair to broaden the fund’s capabilities to include rescue funding and other solutions for companies with capital structure challenges. Blair lately worked as somebody and mature credit analyst at Milford Sound Capital LP and previous as a managing director at Solus Alternative Asset Management, where he was involved in a few of the fund’s largest distressed investments.
PSP’s private debts investments have been generally centered on revolving credit facilities, first and second lien term loans, as well as secured and unsecured bonds. Blair’s hire will let the pension plan get more involved with distressed debt and rescue financing by taking advantage of its relations with the world’s largest private equity funds seeking financing because of their portfolio companies.
“PSP is one of the go-to people in preferred equity solutions, because there is a far more limited variety of players in this space,” said Jeff Rowbottom, handling director at PSP Investments USA, in a telephone interview from New York. 6.8 billion) in resources under management at the end of March, with 75 percent of them located in North America, and the majority of the remainder in Europe.
Healthcare, industrials and technology were the sectors that dominate its collection. Pension funds across the world have been increasing investment in private debt lately as it offers them the chance to deploy cash in long-term assets. Although it’s less liquid than general public assets, private debt offers higher returns, an essential incentive at a right time of close to record-low interest rates.
While the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada have been steadily tightening monetary plan, rates are relatively low by historical requirements still. And as the transfer to private debt is become more widespread, some areas like middle-market corporate lending get overcrowded, according to advisory firm Willis Towers Watson. In distressed debt, rival companies have been hindered with a shortage of stressed companies, which have been kept by cheap rates of interest and lax lending standards afloat. At midyear, performing distressed debt was at its lowest level since 2014, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence tally.
“There’s still a lot of room to perform in private credit,” Rowbottom said. A few examples of PSP’s activity in this space include investments in video telematics company Lytx Inc. and a subsidiary of Stone Caynon Industries LLC. In addition, it supported USI Insurance Services in acquiring a rival brokerage from Wells Fargo & Co., Rowbottom said. PSP’s private personal debt arm has offices in New York, London and Montreal, which employ 30 investment professionals.
It has already worked with more than 40 private-equity firms, including nearly every major entity for the reason that space, Rowbottom said. “Most pension funds aren’t as well known for being creative and solutions-oriented,” Rowbottom said. 153 billion in net property at the ultimate end of March. Distressed debt funds are closed-end or open-end vehicles that spend money on debt securities of mid-to large-sized companies that are experiencing financial distress. Investments are made either by purchasing at steep special discounts on view market or from existing lenders.
Distressed debt managers can go after a number of strategies including control (loan-to-own), non-control and restructuring (or turnarounds), among others. As the article above expresses, distressed debt money have been hindered by low rates, lax financing standards, and a shortage of troubled companies given the effectiveness of the US overall economy. But the US Markit Manufacturing PMI dropped to 9-month low this morning (54.5 vs.
I’ve been caution my readers, the flattening yield curve is signalling a slowdown ahead. What we don’t know yet is whether this is going to be a soft patch or rough patch. You can read my comment in the image above also. Basically, I think the slowdown underway has already been, so easily had to bet, I’d say the recession will hit us eventually.