Can someone call the triple A? We’ve stalled
CLO issuers are in need of AAA roadside assistance. Despite the emergence of new buyers, a lack of senior CLO investors — particularly US banks — has brought the primary market to a halt  

Refi deluge casts shadow on b-wics

CLOs come up smelling of roses
The coronavirus crisis could have cut back 10 years of CLO market progress, but investors’ foresight, trading chops and flexibility meant many saw their strategies blossom during 2020  

Relative value plays swell secondary
The secondary CLO market has been revived this year as volumes shatter 2019 totals. Investors are finding that secondary values outweighs that in primary, with the added bonus of full portfolio disclosure

Europe’s newcomers find ways to stand out
Last year’s new European CLO managers needed to provide something different for investors. In general, they’ve succeeded, with Capital Four having one of the smallest overlap figures in our data

A different kind of crisis
Panellists on Creditflux’s US CLO webinar were positive about the robustness of CLO structures and the role of cure contributions. But they warned about zombie defaults and gaming tests

CLOs at a glance
A round-up of CLO primary and secondary

CLO managers don’t always prioritise profits

Issuers fashion new outfits for junior mezz

CBOs aren’t fixated on interest rate moves

Any takers for illiquid European CLO equity?
The investor base for European CLO equity is far smaller than for US CLO equity. But for those with the mandate, and willing to stomach the illiquidity, valuations have been strong this year.

CLO investors should be looking at CSOs

Short-dated CLOs still have life in them

Large, liquid loans aren’t always perfect
CLOs could be forgiven for rushing to buy Refinitiv loans — after all it was the biggest LBO since the crisis. But some large managers have abstained, while others have bought opportunistically

Moving on from the late 2018 hangover
It might be too early to call a full recovery, but it’s fair to say that the US loan market is back on track with $48 billion of institutional issuance in 2019 — 88% of which is made up of new issues

Buy and hold isn’t only option for CLO equity
New US CLO equity is being more regularly flipped into b-wics. Figures suggest that equity pieces of 2017 and 2018 US deals made up 22% of the b-wic market over the past four quarters

Tastes change in secondary trading
Our analysis of the secondary market shows that, since 2013, appetite for CLOs run by tier one managers persists through market dips and rallies.

Boutique CLO managers boss secondary market
Creditflux analysis shows that, when their total assets are taken into account, small managers' CLOs are more liquid than those of large managers