How have credit investors been successfully navigating the volatile interest rate environment?  Which sectors currently look attractive to opportunistic credit investors?  What are some of the major misconceptions about today’s commercial real estate market?  In this episode of The Insight: Conversations, Wayne Dahl (Assistant Portfolio Manager, Global Credit), Robert O’Leary (Portfolio Manager, Global Opportunities), and Mark Jacobs (Co-Portfolio Manager, Real Estate Income) discuss topics from the September edition of The Roundup: Top Takeaways from Oaktree’s Quarterly Letters (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/insight-commentary/market-commentary/the-roundup-top-takeaways-from-oaktrees-quarterly-letters-september-2023-edition) and explain what it means to be in a credit picker’s market.

We may be in the first act of what could be a long drama unfolding across markets, as companies face the prospect of higher-for-longer borrowing costs and investors adjust to a new environment in which rigorous credit analysis, not inexpensive debt, will likely be the key to generating superior returns. In the current installment of The Roundup, Oaktree portfolio managers look beyond headline numbers and economic noise to identify the trends reshaping opportunity sets today.

You can read The Roundup here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/september-2023-edition-roundup.pdf).

Learn about the current state of European credit and the dramatic changes seen over the last year in this thought-provoking discussion with Armen Panossian (Head of Performing Credit), Madelaine Jones (Portfolio Manager, European Senior Loans and European High Yield Bonds), and Nael Khatoun (Head of European Private Debt).  They consider the challenges created by the end of the easy money era, risks posed by geopolitics and artificial intelligence, and the quality advantage that exists in European markets.

Armen Panossian (Head of Performing Credit), Danielle Poli (Assistant Portfolio Manager, Global Credit), and Megan Messina (Head of CLO Capital Markets) discuss topics from the 2Q2023 Performing Credit Quarterly.  They consider the current tug-of war between fiscal and monetary policy, opportunities in credit, and what many investors are getting wrong about today’s CLO market.

The U.S. economy continues to send mixed messages – but that may be because the Biden administration’s desire to keep the economy churning has clashed with the Federal Reserve’s interest in throwing sand in the gears. In Oaktree’s latest Performing Credit Quarterly, Armen Panossian (Head of Performing Credit) and Danielle Poli (Assistant Portfolio Manager, Global Credit) discuss the implications for investors, including why this tug-of-war may cause interest rates to remain higher for longer than many are anticipating.

You can read the 2Q2023 PCQ here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/performing-credit-quarterly-2q2023.pdf?sfvrsn=f1ba5266_5).

David Rosenberg, co-portfolio manager of Oaktree’s U.S. and Global High Yield strategies, and Howard Marks discuss topics from the June 2023 edition of The Roundup. They consider the evolution of the high yield bond market, investor optimism and why this time might actually be different in financial markets.

Oaktree believes the investment environment may be undergoing a dramatic change, not simply a cyclical fluctuation. In the current installment of The Roundup, Oaktree portfolio managers explore the changes we’re already seeing in credit markets and consider what may lie ahead. What catalysts might widen the distressed liquid credit universe? How is the life sciences direct lending landscape evolving? How can real estate debt investors take advantage of the trends reshaping the market? Explore these and many other questions, and hear an excerpt from Howard Marks’s recent memo to clients.

You can read The Roundup here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/the-roundup-june-2023-edition.pdf).

Oaktree Investment Risk Officer Wayne Dahl explains why economic statistics can tell conflicting stories and what this means for credit investors trying to make sense of today’s noisy data.

When a period of easy money comes to an abrupt end, simmering risks typically erupt, as we recently saw in the banking sector. Armen Panossian (Head of Performing Credit) and Danielle Poli (Head of the Product Specialist Group) explain why they believe more pockets of stress will likely burst as credit conditions tighten – and why this will benefit bargain hunters.

You can read the 1Q2023 PCQ here (https://www.oaktreecapital.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/performing-credit-quarterly-1q2023.pdf?sfvrsn=64b15f66_16).

In the first episode of Oaktree’s new podcast, Armen Panossian (Head of Performing Credit) and Howard Marks (Co-Chairman) discuss key takeaways from the 1Q2023 Performing Credit Quarterly, including the potential ramifications of the recent banking turmoil, opportunities in private credit, and a possible rise in distress. As part of the discussion, they explore Howard’s memo Lessons from Silicon Valley Bank.