At the quarterly meeting of AFME’s High Yield Board today, it was agreed that an independent associate group, the “European Leveraged Finance Alliance Investor Group” or “ELFA Investor Group”, would be established.

ELFA Investor Group members will remain members of the AFME High Yield Division. They will meet independently of AFME, but it is intended that they will actively cooperate in initiatives to develop further the European leveraged finance market. Existing AFME investor members will continue to be able to engage in the High Yield Division.

The ELFA Investor Group will represent the buy-side community within the European high yield and leveraged finance market and will help to promote a transparent, efficient, and resilient leveraged finance market in Europe. It will also act as a forum for engagement with other industry professionals, as well as a knowledge platform to further educate the European high yield and leveraged finance investor community.

Sabrina Fox, formerly Head of High Yield for Covenant Review, has been appointed to lead the group during its development stage.

Sabrina Fox, ELFA Investor Group, said: “The establishment of the ELFA Investor Group marks the next step for the European leveraged finance markets, as it will allow its members to speak with a single voice in order to foster a deeper and more resilient market for the benefit of all market participants.” 

Gary Simmons, Managing Director of AFME’s High Yield Division, said: “The high yield investor community is an important part of the European high yield industry and we value its contribution to maintaining a healthy and viable market.  AFME currently has many important high yield investor members and we are delighted to announce the creation of this independent investor group which will allow all parties to continue making a positive contribution to market growth and efficiency as part of the mission of the AFME High Yield Division.”

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