A sample of 348 seasoned deals (2015–2019 vintage deals) managed by 56 US CLO managers is included in this study. The benchmark loan index used is the Morningstar LSTA US B-BB Ratings Loan Index.
It is encouraging to witness the year-to-date (YTD) upward trend in the floating spreads of collateral for EU CLOs, as observed in a sample of 2021 vintage deals. The inherent long-term, non-recourse funding nature of a CLO structure provides managers with an opportunity to navigate challenging environments and bolster their net interest margins during periods of volatility.
In the table below, the relative standing of each US CLO manager is illustrated based on their latest average total alpha metrics. A score of 91% means that the manager's total return alpha is at the 91st percentile, indicating that their total return alpha metric is higher than 91% of their peers.
This study underscores the significant divergence in investment performance between the top and bottom 10 US CLO managers based on their alpha. The findings emphasize the critical role of effective manager selection in achieving favorable results. While metrics like par build and weighted average price offer insights, they don't tell the whole story. Conversely, the average WAS, WARF, and liquidity depth metrics for both groups show minimal variance, indicating a limited correlation of these metrics with investment performance based on this sample.
At first glance, one might assume that managers with higher portfolio spreads tend to perform well during favorable market conditions but struggle during downturns. However, upon closer analysis of the average alpha performance within each category, this assumption is only partially valid and not universally applicable.
A sample of 199 seasoned deals (2015–2019 vintage deals) managed by 39 managers is included in this study. The benchmark...
