Help: LCD Credit Analysis overview

Are you new to PitchBook from LCD and accustomed to sourcing debt data through LCDComps? Or perhaps you have been using PitchBook for some time and are exploring the expanded debt data and analysis we have on the platform? Whichever way you have come to this article, you will find how to use PitchBook to access debt data, news, and research. Doing so will enable you to evaluate the credit market, determine strong lending opportunities, find comps for deals you are exploring, and benchmark loan performance.

Read on to find out how LCD’s credit resources have been integrated into PitchBook.

The Credit News tab is the home for LCD’s credit news in PitchBook. Updated throughout the day as news articles are published, the tab features a user-friendly search bar, column filters, quick links to in-depth deal data, and easy access to the profiles of issuers, lenders, and sponsors.

To find this tab, click Credit News in the LCD Credit Analysis section of the sidebar.

Searching and filtering news

These tools on the Credit News tab make it easy to find the news you need:

1. Search Bar – Enter keywords, company names, or even the titles of specific articles.
2. Table Columns – Hover over the top of each table column to see additional filtering options. Click the funnel icon to filter or the arrow icon to sort. Filter and sort on news topic, asset class, lender, sponsor, issuer, and more.

News alerts

News alerts send you an email as soon as an article is published within your areas of interest, and high-frequency topics will email you many times throughout the day. The alert email includes the full text of the news article. To sign up for news alerts:

1. Click Subscribe in the top right corner of the Credit News tab.
2. Use the + symbol to the left of the top-level topics to expand them. For a description of each topic, see Credit News topic definitions.
3. Click Save.
4. If you need to manage your subscription in the future, return to this menu or click Alerts & Subscriptions in the My PitchBook section of the PitchBook sidebar.

Note that the alert emails do not include any article attachments or links to related companies and deals. You can find these and other useful information within the Credit News tab.

Forward calendars and upcoming credit deals

Keep an eye on upcoming loan and bond deals with the loan and bond forward calendars. These calendars segment the news into shadow, announced, and in-market deals for loans; and expected, announced, and priced deals for bonds.

To reach the forward calendars, click Credit News in the PitchBook sidebar and then select the Forward Loans Calendar or Forward Bonds Calendar subtabs.

The Credit Research tab is the home for LCD’s credit research in PitchBook. Within this tab, you can quickly identify the reports and pipeline files you want using a straightforward search box, quick filters, a report table for browsing, and easy access to the full profiles of companies or lenders mentioned in reports.

To find this tab, click on Credit Research in the LCD Credit Analysis section of the sidebar.

Searching and filtering research

These tools on the Credit Research tab make it easy to locate a report or pipeline file covering the topics you’re looking for:

1. Search Bar – Enter keywords related to your topic, enter the title of a report, or search for “pipeline” for pipeline files.
2. Quick Filters – Use the Quick Filters to narrow the list of reports. The options focus on credit asset class, purpose of the debt, region, mentioned companies, and more. Find definitions of the Quick Filter options in the Report table headings section in our article How to access and navigate Credit Research.
3. Table Columns – Filter and sort your results by hovering over the top of each column in the table. Click the funnel icon to filter or the arrow icon to sort. If you’re not sure about the definition of a column, see the Report table headings section in our article How to access and navigate Credit Research.

Report titles

Some report names have been adjusted in the move from LCD to PitchBook to fit better within the PitchBook Platform’s broad universe of research.

For example, some updated names are:

• Quarterly PowerPoint is now US Leveraged Loan Quarterly Trend Lines
• M&A Technicals Report, or M&A Stats, is now US Loan Market M&A Trend Lines
• European Monthly Review is now European Leveraged Finance Report
• LCD Weekly Wrap, or LoanStats Weekly Wrap, is now US Credit Markets Weekly Wrap
• Recovery Study Report, or LossStats, is now the Global Recovery Study

For a full list of report titles from LCDComps with the new report titles in PitchBook, download our Credit Research Report Titles file.

In many cases, searching by a report’s former name from LCDComps will also help surface reports with the new name. For example, if you’re looking for the Default Rates/Downgrades/Distress Ratios file, entering the words “downgrade/distress” in the search box will surface the US Leveraged Loan Default Rates report, along with other reports that relate to downgrades and distressed loans.

You can also use the search bar to look for a specific keyword from the report you need. This method may help you find reports on discounted spreads, volume reports, rates, ratios, spreads, returns, recovery, wraps, index-related reports, and more.

Research alerts

Research alerts allow you to receive an email when a report is published within a specific geography, asset class, and report type. To sign up for research alerts:

1. Click Subscribe in the top right corner of the Credit Research tab.
2. Use the + symbol to the left of the asset class names to expand the categories. Select the checkboxes for the report types that you need. For a list of the reports included in each alert category, download our Alert Categories for Credit Research file or follow the steps in the Choosing an alert category section of our How to access and navigate Credit Research article.
3. Click Save.
4. If you need to manage your subscription in the future, return to this menu or click Alerts & Subscriptions in the My PitchBook section of the PitchBook sidebar.

Statistics and charts by asset class

The asset class dashboards provide tables and charts of statistics and trends alongside reports, giving a complex view into this market segment. The tables and charts can be used to decide the most productive topics to explore in further research. They give you a broad view of the asset class performance over time in areas such as trends, yields, volume, default rate, calendar, repayments, leverage, or prices, with the specific charts available varying by asset class. Reach these dashboards from the ribbon above the reports table.

Morningstar Indexes contain a live look at the price of a composite set of loans as they move through the market. They can be used for tracking and benchmarking the prices of loans similar to those in your investment field. In PitchBook, you can find index returns, spreads, commentary, par amount outstanding, and more.

To get started with index-related information needs, choose one of these options:

• Click the Leveraged Loan Indexes Analysis Dashboard subtab in the Credit Research tab to access reports and statistics for the Morningstar LSTA Leveraged Loan Index (LLI) and European Leveraged Loan Index (ELLI).
• Click Indexes in the Credit Analysis section of the PitchBook sidebar to access index components and index levels, shown below.

Index reports and return statistics

Reports related to the Morningstar LSTA Leveraged Loan Index (LLI) and European Leveraged Loan Index (ELLI) appear in the Credit Research tab, alongside reports about other credit topics, and on the Leveraged Loans Indexes Analysis Dashboard. You can find common index-related reports in PitchBook under the following names:

• US Leveraged Loan Index Daily Spreads
• US Leveraged Loan Index Monthly Wrap
• European Leveraged Loan Index Factsheet
• US Leveraged Loan Index Factsheet

Index level comparisons

Using our Index Comparisons tool, compare returns among a collection of over 300 Morningstar Indexes. Add up to 10 indexes at a time to compare data points related to bids, total return, or market value returns. Type index names into the Indexes search box to easily choose the indexes you wish to view on the chart.

Index components

In the Index Components tool, find market return, par amount outstanding, and total return for segments of the US Leveraged Loan Index, Europe Leveraged Loan Index, Global Leveraged Loan Index, and the Leveraged Loan 100. View the individual issuers and facility details for deals that make up these indexes under the Display Map within the Components table.

LCD’s credit data has been integrated alongside PitchBook’s extensive data on deals, debts, and the organizations involved. This section will show you where to find actionable data in context.

Loan and bond pipelines

LCD’s loan and bond pipelines highlight debts with a particular feature, such as second lien loans or cov-lite loans. If you’re accustomed to downloading these daily pipeline files, PitchBook’s Debt & Lenders screener will be an invaluable tool for you. The Debt & Lenders screener allows you to surface debts, issuers, lenders, and sponsors using a wide variety of debt characteristics. Some pipelines have even been integrated as one-click prebuilt searches.

Since PitchBook’s tracking scope covers a wider set of deals than LCD’s tracking scope, you will find additional debts and deals in the Debt & Lenders screener that were not available in LCDComps.

Business development companies (BDCs)

Business Development Company (BDC) portfolio holdings are a critical piece of information about the credit market, particularly for participants in direct lending. BDCs are tracked in PitchBook as a fund type, with a service provider as the fund’s manager. However, depending on the business activities of the BDC and its business status, the BDC may also be tracked as an investor and as a public company.

You can find BDC portfolio holdings in the following places:

• The full universe of BDCs is located on the BDC tab in Credit Research, pictured below. This tool contains 10 years of quarterly reported holdings for about 150 BDCs, with over 500,000 holdings records represented.

• All BDCs managed by a specific fund manager will appear on the manager’s Service Provider profile, in the Funds tab. To find the Service Provider profile, search the fund manager’s name in the search bar at the top of the PitchBook Platform.

Collateralized loan obligations (CLOs)

Find Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) lifecycle data and collateral pool guidelines across PitchBook. Individual CLOs are tracked in PitchBook as a fund type, with an investor as the fund’s manager. You can also explore our CLO Analysis Dashboard for trends in this market.

You can find CLO data in the following places:

• Data about the CLO fund will appear on its CLO Fund profile, pictured below. To find the CLO’s profile, search for its name in the search bar at the top of the PitchBook Platform.
• The CLO Details search results tab, which you can find after completing an Investors & Funds screener.
• All CLOs managed by a specific fund manager will appear on the manager’s Investor profile in the Funds tab. To find the Investor profile, search the fund manager’s name in the search bar at the top of the PitchBook Platform.

Deal sheets, company deal history, and lender data

Deal sheets for debt deals are no longer separated from a company’s financing history. Find them integrated directly into the record of the company’s financing history alongside its other debt deals, equity deals, and exit deals. Analyze a company’s financial position with the other information available on its profile, which is described in our articles on private company profiles and public company profiles. You can access this deal history in several ways, including the following:

1. If you want more information about the deals and parties in news stories, you can click on the business names in the Issuer, Lender, or Sponsor columns in the Credit News tab to visit the profiles of those organizations, which contain our full array of data related to that business. Select the value in the Deal Type column to access the deal sheet with the deal’s full details, including not only debt data but also broader deal information, investors, advisors, initial deal preferences, and the company’s stock information and cap table history, when applicable. Along with the deal sheet, you’ll find the company’s full deal history to better assess its financial position.
   
2. If you know are looking for a specific issuer, use the General Search bar in PitchBook’s top ribbon to search for a company by name, PBId, or LCD Issuer ID. This will direct you to the company’s profile, which includes its deal history, general information, financial data, investors, filings, and more. Add additional context to your research with clinical trial data, patents, and other market research tools.
   
3. If you are looking for a specific lender, use the General Search bar in PitchBook’s top ribbon to search for the lender by name, PBId, or LCD Lender ID. This will direct you to the lender’s profile, which includes its general information, services provided, preferences, filings, and more.
   
4. If you know some characteristics of the debts you want to find, use the Debt & Lenders screener or the column filters in Debts search results to pinpoint debts matching your criteria. To start, click on Debts in the Data section of the heading. After you run your screener, you can add or remove the visible columns for your search results by clicking Edit Table and then Edit Columns. Use the funnel icon on any column within the search results to further filter or sort the list of debts.
   

Find deal information, credit news, and credit research on the go with the PitchBook Mobile App. Our mobile app is designed to give you access to valuable and timely information throughout the day, wherever you are.

From the app’s navigation menu or homepage, tab the option you need:

1. Search in the navigation menu allows you to build a screener for issuers and deals.

2. News in the navigation menu gives access to reports and news. Once you’re on the News tab, you’ll see credit news in the LCD Credit News section.

   

   3. Research Reports on the homepage directs you to all reports. Once on the Research Reports page, tap LCD Credit in the top navigation bar to see credit reports only.

   

LCD’s market primers offer a comprehensive introduction to the loan and bond markets. You will find these useful if you’re new to these areas or just seeking a deeper understanding of the factors involved in pricing and syndication. The market primers make it easier for you to contextualize information from reports and act on trends and market conditions. You can download the primers at the links in this section or with the files that appear on the right side or bottom of this article.

• Leveraged Loan Primer – In this primer, find in-depth information about the factors in structuring and pricing loans, the key participants in this process, and the life cycle of loans after launch. Download the Leveraged Loan Primer below.
  LCD Leveraged Loan Primer
• High-Yield Bond Primer – Learn about grades and ratings in the bond market, market history, major categories of investors and issuers, the steps toward bond issuance, bond structure, covenants, metrics, bond registration, and derivates. Each section of this primer includes summary information on these topics, along with definitions of related terms that apply to this topic. Download the High-Yield Bond Primer below.
  LCD High-Yield Bond Primer
• Leveraged Loan Glossary – Created by LCD, this glossary contains definitions and explanations for the terms you may encounter in LCD’s research and data. It can be a great source of information for terms used in LCD research reports. For asset classes and data used across the PitchBook Platform, the Help Center articles described above contain evolving definitions based on our current methodology. Download the Leveraged loan glossary below.
  Leveraged loan glossary