Numerous Small EU CLO Managers Exhibit Strong Relative Performance
This study includes a sample of 95 EU CLO deals (closed in 2021 and Jan 2022) managed by 46 managers, using the Morningstar European B Ratings Loan Index as the benchmark loan index. Of particular interest is the substantial representation of small European CLO managers in the top quartile. Notably, half of these high-performing managers are responsible for managing EU CLO assets in the range of EUR 1.0 billion to EUR 2.0 billion. However, it is equally important to recognize that small managers constitute a third of the managers in the lowest quartile. Despite this, small managers—those managing EUR 1.0 to 2.0 billion in EU AUM—have, on average, demonstrated commendable performance when compared with their larger counterparts in the EU CLO market.
