gonin/iStock via Getty Images Thesis Catalyst: The CFO/COO and portfolio manager make significant share purchases days after the February net asset value is disclosed. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. ( ECC ) stands to benefit from the recent reversal in leveraged loan spreads. Spreads compressed to post-GFC lows in the fourth quarter of 2025 which is an expression of confidence by investors in the...
gonin/iStock via Getty Images Thesis Catalyst: The CFO/COO and portfolio manager make significant share purchases days after the February net asset value is disclosed. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. ( ECC ) stands to benefit from the recent reversal in leveraged loan spreads. Spreads compressed to post-GFC lows in the fourth quarter of 2025 which is an expression of confidence by investors in the asset class and a credit tailwind for leveraged loan issuers, as it reduces the overall interest expense burden for borrowers. Nevertheless, shares of ECC are trading close to their 52-week lows, currently at a 20% discount to the February 2026 NAV estimate, and have not seen any significant recovery year to date. The current net asset value of $4.36 reflects the latest mark-to-market valuation of the portfolio, which tends to decline in periods of volatility given the lack of liquidity of the underlying assets. The NAV trajectory has been extremely negative over the last 3 months, with NAV declining 23.5% from $5.70 in December 2025 to $4.36 in only 2 months. The leveraged loan market dispersion in February created significant mark-to-market valuation pressure, which may represent the worst of the dislocation. The core of the investment thesis is based on two factors: first, the recent open-market purchases by CFO/COO Ken Onorio ( 110,000 shares at $3.74, ~$411K) and Portfolio Manager Dan Ko ( 57,165 shares at $3.50, ~$200K) signal that insiders believe the panic-driven selloff has overshot fundamentals. Onorio purchased at a 14.2% discount to the February NAV midpoint. Ko purchased at a 19.7% discount. Second, the private credit crisis driving negative sentiment toward ECC is paradoxically creating a tailwind for the company’s underlying CLO portfolios through par build opportunities as private credit funds liquidate their most liquid BSL holdings at discounted prices. For investors with a 12-month horizon and tolerance for mark-to-market volatility, the risk/reward at c...
Ildo Frazao/iStock via Getty Images March was not a great month in most asset classes. The S&P 500 lost a bit more than five percent from the month’s opening bell to its closing coda a couple of days ago. Many other equity benchmarks took it on the chin even harder. Bond yields rose, and oil prices rose by a whole lot more. But for all the short-term pain, at least investors in these highly liquid...
Ildo Frazao/iStock via Getty Images March was not a great month in most asset classes. The S&P 500 lost a bit more than five percent from the month’s opening bell to its closing coda a couple of days ago. Many other equity benchmarks took it on the chin even harder. Bond yields rose, and oil prices rose by a whole lot more. But for all the short-term pain, at least investors in these highly liquid markets had ready access to their capital if need be. Not so for the multitudes, retail and institutional alike, who over the past several years heard the siren song of private credit funds and opened their wallets to the purveyors – private closed-end funds and business development companies – of these dulcet tunes. Owl Trouble You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave. That line from the Eagles' iconic hit “Hotel California” may be on auto-repeat in the heads of investors in one of the funds at the top of the private credit world. The figurative front desk at Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ) has been full of folks trying to check out of their investment and leave — $5.4 billion in redemption requests in the first quarter of this year. For one of the firm’s two flagship funds, the Blue Owl Technology Income Fund, the amount of money seeking to get out ran to more than 40 percent of the fund’s total asset value. In response, Blue Owl slapped a cap of five percent (of total asset value) on withdrawals, so for most of those check-out requests, the exit doors are shut and sealed. Most of Blue Owl’s peers in the elite tranche of private credit funds, including Apollo Global ( APO ), KKR ( KKR ) and Ares Management ( ARES ), have instituted similar measures to limit redemption outflows. A $22 Trillion Walled Garden The private credit market, with around $2 trillion in total assets, is part of the $22 trillion colossus that is the market for private capital, which includes as well the sprawling complex of private equity that has insinuated itself into every highway an...
Cryptocurrency prices have dropped significantly in the past six months. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) closed March 30 at roughly $66,700, more than 45% down from its October high. Growing risk-off sentiment, low trading volumes, and geopolitical tensions have all contributed to the decline of the leading crypto. The waning interest also fits with historical price patterns: Bitcoin tends to enter a rut af...
Cryptocurrency prices have dropped significantly in the past six months. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) closed March 30 at roughly $66,700, more than 45% down from its October high. Growing risk-off sentiment, low trading volumes, and geopolitical tensions have all contributed to the decline of the leading crypto. The waning interest also fits with historical price patterns: Bitcoin tends to enter a rut after hype-driven rallies, such as last year's wave of enthusiasm about potential legislative progress, mainstream adoption, and a pro-crypto administration. However, an end may be in sight for the latest crypto dip. A recent note from Goldman Sachs suggests Bitcoin may have reached its bottom. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading