Varun Surapaneni

In case you missed it, KCP content is now available on the Bloomberg Terminal. For 10 years, #CMBS and CRE #investors have relied on #KCP to provide objective, thoughtful, and comprehensive #creditanalysis. Each month, KCP's team of 40+ analysts publishes deal- and loan-level valuations, loss projections, and detailed commentary on over 1,300 transactions and thousands of #loans. The continued adoption of KCP into third-party platforms provides CMBS investors with increased efficiency, which is crucial during this time of continued volatility in #CRE credit. Mutual clients of #Bloomberg and KCP can now run cash flows and price bonds using any of the six KCP loss scenarios on the Super Yield Table (SYT) screen, as well as review KCP loan analysis on the various Loan Description (#LDES) displays. Please join KCP's Steve Kuritz, Mike Brotschol, and Marc Iadonisi, along with Bloomberg's Cheryl Lopez-Collins and Robert Pratt, for a webinar on April 16 and see the integration in action. Register for the webinar today: https://lnkd.in/gurdUSnP | #KBRAAnalytics Client testimonials:

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It’s been a few days since the Institutional Investor Private Credit Forum, but I’m still thinking about some of the insights David Gaito, head of Direct Lending at Fidelity Investments, shared during his interview-style session, Capitalizing on Opportunities in Direct Lending. There are a lot of questions surrounding the field of direct lending and how current market conditions may impact the space, but even though the session lasted only 15 minutes, David managed to pack in valuable insights, like: ▪️ The key differentiators that can set successful direct lending firms apart in today’s competitive market ▪️ How established firms may adapt to the pressure of the influx of new entrants and abundant capital in the private credit space, to potentially avoid a “race to the bottom” ▪️ What risk mitigation practices can be put in place for the private credit market to prepare itself for a potential economic downturn If you couldn’t make the event, you can learn more about direct lending here: https://bit.ly/45paSOj

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Dive into Ryan Bond, CFA, MBA, PMP's latest paper and uncover additional returns through collateral optimization. Ryan draws from his industry expertise to shed light on the challenges and opportunities in collateral management, providing actionable insights to elevate fund performance. 🔵 Break the habit of relying on cash as collateral in a high-interest rate environment. 🔵 Explore alternative collateral options to alleviate cash drag and maximize returns. 🔵 Evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of various collateral types, including cash, fixed-income securities, and equities. 🔵 Receive practical recommendations for optimizing collateral allocation tailored to your fund's holdings, mandates, and monitoring capabilities. Don't miss out on these invaluable insights🚀 #CollateralAlpha #AssetManagement

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James Sackett, principal with AB CarVal provides key insights into how #privatecapital is increasingly being used to finance consumer spending. “Asset-based finance helps to power the real economy. At an estimated $6.3 trillion, the non-bank lending market is many times larger than the one for corporate direct lending, and it provides much of the financing for residential and commercial property, cars, credit cards, small business loans, commercial equipment and a variety of niche sectors, including revenue streams tied to intellectual property royalties.” Read the full perspective here: https://lnkd.in/gNnKtPyu

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🔥Khadim Batti Batti, cofounder, 🔥Whatfix 🌟🌟Warburg Pincus may lead $100-150 million funding round in Saas firm Whatfix 🌟🌟 🔥🔥Private equity firm Warburg Pincus is set to lead a $100-150 million (about Rs 833 crore to Rs 1,250 crore) funding round in SoftBank-backed software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm Whatfix, said people with knowledge of the matter.🔥🔥 🚀Catalyzing Growth: Warburg Pincus leading a $100-150 million funding round for Whatfix signifies a major catalyst for growth, empowering the SaaS firm to scale new heights. 🚀Fueling Innovation: This substantial investment underscores the potential of Whatfix's innovative solutions, driving further advancements in the SaaS industry. 🚀Empowering Digital Transformation: The funding will enable Whatfix to enhance its digital transformation offerings, helping businesses adapt and thrive in the digital age. 🚀Confidence in Vision: Warburg Pincus' involvement highlights strong investor confidence in Whatfix's vision and capability to lead in the SaaS market. 🚀Expanding Horizons: With this funding, Whatfix can expand its global reach, bringing its cutting-edge technology to more organizations worldwide. 🚀Strengthening Foundations: The investment will strengthen Whatfix's foundations, allowing for robust infrastructure and sustainable growth. 🚀Driving Excellence: Whatfix's pursuit of excellence is exemplified by attracting significant investment, showcasing their commitment to delivering top-notch solutions. 🚀Inspiring Innovation: The funding round inspires other SaaS firms to innovate and strive for excellence, highlighting the value of visionary thinking. 🚀Leadership in SaaS: Warburg Pincus' investment places Whatfix in a leadership position within the SaaS industry, setting a benchmark for quality and growth. 🚀Building the Future: This partnership between Warburg Pincus and Whatfix is a step towards building a future where technology seamlessly enhances business operations. ✅️Share Your Startup Story 🚀📲 https://lnkd.in/ggir3Qap ✅️visite our website🌐 https://lnkd.in/dad4nH #BuildTheFuture #SaaSLeadership #InspireInnovation #DriveExcellence #StrengthenFoundations #ExpandHorizons #ConfidenceInVision #EmpowerTransformation #FuelInnovation #CatalyzeGrowth #scoopearth

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I had an interesting chat with Yuke Xie from the South China Morning Post SCMP recently on the evolving investment strategies of Middle Eastern institutions and family offices.    Traditionally centered on the US and Europe, these investors and institutions are now turning their attention to the dynamic economies of #SoutheastAsia.    Looking forward, I foresee Southeast Asia maturing significantly as an investment hub, driven by its vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and fast-growing middle class. I believe Southeast Asia could well become a third pillar of international diversification for Middle Eastern investment, and #healthcare could potentially be a focal point.    Exciting times lie ahead for our SEA team of investment professional & operators, and we are currently raising a Southeast Asia-focused healthcare growth capital fund to capitalize on this growth.   Read more about it in the following link:

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Inspired by JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon's recent interview with Emily Chang of Bloomberg News, ValidMind senior software engineer Luis A Pallares L shares his lessons learned for #MRM teams: #modelriskmanagement #leadership #riskmanagement #MLOps #MachineLearning #LLM #LLMs #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AImodels #AIgovernance #financialmodeling

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In the multi-asset context, a skilled analyst will find more than just a surface-level insight from valuation signals... Here's how to use valuation signals to get ahead, detect risks, and optimize portfolio allocations through the cycle: https://lnkd.in/gpwJxZMV

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UBS's latest report on private credit states that "the same supply and demand dynamics that defined the early periods of private credit (where banks just pulled up the shutters) are playing out now in the non-sponsored part of the market (i.e., loans to companies and assets that are owned by founders, family offices and smaller publicly traded companies)...A wealth of further opportunities lies at the smaller end of the lending market." Almost a decade ago, Altimapa Capital was founded to offer mid-market and smaller companies with the hands-on professional service typically reserved for the largest firms. Many of these have been entrepreneur-led businesses for whom we have structured and placed financings to support organic growth, fund acquisitions and strengthen working capital. With high interest rates persisting, lender demand remains high across private debt and bank providers alike. #nonsponsoredborrowers #privatecredit #privatedebt #directlending https://lnkd.in/eez3Sp6m 

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Please join the Inveniam team and a quartet of industry leaders, including Shari Noonan from Rialto Markets, Julian Kwan with InvestaX, Jon Nieman of G42, and David Wagner from Houlihan Lokey. Together, the group examines the intersection of the private credit market and decentralized finance (DeFi) and predicts when large credit funds will enter the DeFi space at scale. #privatemarkets #privatecredit #blockchain #enterprisedata

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The future of sec lending Inside the latest issue - https://lnkd.in/eJP9gKVy Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree , delves into how regulation is transforming the securities lending landscape and how technology plays a critical role in this evolution

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Capital market continue to remain robust. Here are some of the topics I am thinking about as we head into summer.  CRE Woes Despite roaring capital markets, we saw the first AAA asset backed security default since the GFC last month. The fact that it was a security backed by an old mid-town office in New York will come as no surprise. Issues around older office buildings in Europe and Americas are well known. However, it points to a wider problem in the office CRE space. The stock of loans that needs to be refinanced in this segment is large and many have been subject to amend and extend modifications over the previous two years. They are now facing a triple whammy.  The fixed rate interest rate hedges that were put on against these loans have typical maturities of five years and they are now rolling off. The new interest rates are much higher. Capital values have fallen and there is a gap between appraised and transaction values. Refinancing spreads have risen too. I am hearing of tough refinancing negotiations across the industry. I do not see this as a systematic risk to markets, but note that there are a large number of small banks that have relatively large CRE exposures. I therefore expect a re-run of something that looks like the Saving and Loans crises of the 80s. Booming Japan Japan continues to boom. I've lost count of the number of family and friends that are going to Japan to take advantage of the wonderful hospitality and very cheap Yen. The booming FX, bond and equity markets have been keeping our teams and clients extremely busy. The BoJ is still in its monetary policy normalisation phase in this cycle having exited negative interest rates and removed the yield floor on JGBs. Market expectations are for modest rate hikes and the beginning of Quantitative Tightening.  I personally think the BoJ will deliver more than is priced into the market. Collapsing Volatility The current very low levels of market volatility have surprised us. As you can see from the charts attached on this post, FX, Credit and Equity volatility are at the lowest levels we have seen this century. Rate market volatility is at the median of what we have seen this century, which makes sense given the backdrop of uncertain inflation outcomes and central bank action. I have heard market participants talk about a “summer of carry trades”, but I'm a little sceptical of this because they require volatility to remain suppressed at these low levels. That is not to say there are not attractive carry opportunities in the markets. They just need to be sized appropriately for the risk that volatility starts to increase again, particularly as we navigate through global political election cycles and their impact on future fiscal and monetary policy.   A modest degree of volatility hedging may serve you well.

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KBRA released a report that analyzes how its #CMBSratings assigned at issuance have performed from 2011 through April 2024. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/edNQNSeK | #commercialbacked #commercialrealestate #insightfulresearch

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Great piece from Kevin McPartland on "What the Buy Side Wants from Bond Trading Venues." At Trumid, we're optimizing trader workflows at a rapid pace. Highlights include:  🔸 All-to-All Trading Solutions ↳Trumid Anonymous RFQ, Swarms, and IOI Matching   🔸 Improved Automation Functionality ↳ Trumid integrated rates and automated hedging tools   🔸 TCA Analysis ↳ Cost saving and impact models including Trumid FVMP™  🔸 Portfolio Trading and Direct Stream Trading Tools ↳ Trumid PT and Trumid Attributed Trading "The last 10 years have shown us that trading protocols are often what attract volume, while data and workflow improvements are what keep volume captive." - Kevin McPartland. See report for more details 👇

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ADI's Jason Taylor, CFA, FRM was in-person for a great Data Driven NYC event hosted by FirstMark's Matt Turck. Below are 𝟓 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲s ⬇ 💵 Cost optimization is a priority, driving interest in LLM-based products that can deliver cost efficiencies. 🔗 Integrating LLMs into production-ready solutions requires combining multiple components beyond just the LLM model itself. 🎖 Technical skills are not the sole factor for LLM adoption - champions across different roles facilitate adoption as user barriers are lowered. 🚀 Quick access to vast information is a key value add and highly desired by users. 🔊 Successful product development and sales rely on being customer-centric - understanding user needs by being on the ground and actively listening to clients. What were your biggest takeaways? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Renen Hallak VAST Data Jonathan Rosenbluth Cohere Gabriel Hubert Dust Ben Lerner Espresso AI #ai #LLM

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Always nice when a prediction comes true! In my 2021 book "Sustainability Rating Agencies vs Credit Rating Agencies: The Battle to Serve the Mainstream Investor" (https://lnkd.in/egK-vFR) I stated that more convergence between the credit rating and ESG rating sector was on the cards. In my 2024 book "ESG Rating Agencies and Financial Regulation: A Signalling Theory Approach" (https://lnkd.in/eyh9ynFP) I went on to predict that we would see an increasing duopolisation (or oligopolisation) in the ESG rating space because that is what investors really want. Today, it appears as if Moody's has stepped out of the running in the ESG rating space. Its partnership with MSCI, announced today, effectively sees Moody's (in time) 'migrating its exisiting ESG data and scores to offering MSCI's sustainability content'. Massive development, but not a surprising one. Why step back? What does S&P and MSCI have as market leaders in the ESG ratings game that Moody's does not? Look no further than the more lucrative and important index business. It is abundantly clear now that ESG ratings are an addendum, a support act, an accompliment to a much larger game... the index business. Regulators ought to take today's announcement very seriously indeed. It is not just another partnership, but a seismic shift. The effect of duopoly in the nascent ESG rating sector has not been considered enough, but now it must be... You can access all my work via DrDanielCash.com https://lnkd.in/eqTYsCe3 The Credit Rating Research Initiative Ann Rutledge Mark McCord Hazel Ilango Matt Moscardi Bill Harrington Anna Brunetti Kenza Bryan Coziana Ciurea Butler Libby George

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NEWS: Cboe Global Markets to Launch New U.S. Treasury Market Volatility Index (VIXTLT) 🔹Developed by Cboe Labs, the company's product innovation hub, and benchmark administered by Cboe Global Indices, VIXTLT Index leverages Cboe's proprietary VIX® Index methodology, applied to highly liquid, listed options on the iShares® 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). 🔹The VIXTLT Index will be available in both percentage price volatility and basis point volatility terms and complements existing Credit VIX Indices as Cboe expands its fixed income volatility index suite. 🔹VIXTLT is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2024. Learn more in the press release ⬇️

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