AAA vs ACLO: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Alternative Access First Priority CLO Bond ETF

AAACNYSE Arca

TCW AAA CLO ETF

ACLOANYSE

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

AAA −0.01pt a year

AAA0.19%ACLO0.20%

Avg volume · 30D

ACLO 1.8×the volume

AAA20.7KACLO36.8K

AAA vs ACLO Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Nov 2, 2026

+4.2%AAA+5.2%ACLO

Expense ratio: AAA 0.19%, better; ACLO 0.20%
Fund size: AAA $72M; ACLO $595M
1Y total return: AAA +4.2%; ACLO +5.2%, better
Yield (12M): AAA 4.60%; ACLO 5.30%, better
Holdings: AAA 33; ACLO 369
Avg volume (30D): AAA 20.7K sh; ACLO 36.8K sh, better
NAV per share: AAA $24.96; ACLO $50.35
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for AAA, ACLO, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	AAA	ACLO
Cost30% weight	A80	A80
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	D35	B68Higher
Tradability15% weight	F18	A70Higher
Holdings10% weight	D39	A85Higher
Durability5% weight	B55	B64Higher

Rank among Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO) funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. AAA and ACLO are both graded against the same 34 Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO) funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO)⁠

Category · 34 funds

See all 34 ›

ACLO ranks 4th and AAA 14th of 34 funds in the Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO) Category.

Rank 1ACLOAiShares AAA CLO Active ETFScore 85
Rank 2AJAAAJanus Henderson AAA CLO ETFScore 82
Rank 2APAAAPGIM AAA CLO ETFScore 82
Rank 4AACLOTCW AAA CLO ETFScore 75
Rank 5AFAAAFIDELITY AAA CLO ETFScore 72
Rank 13CUUPPPrincipal CLO ETFScore 53
Rank 14CAAAAlternative Access First Priority CLO Bond ETFScore 51
Rank 14CPSQAPalmer Square CLO Senior Debt ETFScore 51

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

AAACAlternative Access First Priority CLO Bond ETF

ACLOATCW AAA CLO ETF

In short

AAA Launched in 2020, this small independent fund holds roughly 30 first-priority CLO bonds and pays monthly, with capital preservation and income as its stated goal. At 0.19% it undercuts most of the big-name CLO ETFs that now crowd the category.

ACLO A 2024 arrival in the crowded AAA CLO aisle. TCW runs it actively, holding roughly 300 of the highest-rated slices of leveraged-loan pools, paying income monthly, at a fee matching the category's cheapest tier.

Stated mandate

AAA The Fund seeks capital preservation and income.

ACLO The fund seeks capital preservation and current income through principal investment in U.S. dollar-denominated AAA-rated collateralized loan obligations.

Why people hold it

AAA 0.19% a year, under the 0.25% CLO ETF median and a hair below CLOA, JAAA, FAAA and ACLO at 0.20%. Fee is one of the few fixed quantities in a capital-preservation product.
The mandate is plain: capital preservation and income from first-priority CLO bonds, the senior slice of the structure that stands first in line to be paid.
Income lands monthly, and the book stays tight at roughly 30 positions, so what sits inside is easy to see rather than buried in hundreds of line items.
A boutique shop in a peer group otherwise stacked with BlackRock, Janus Henderson, PGIM, Fidelity and TCW. Different house, same senior-tranche corner of credit.

ACLO At 0.20% it undercuts the AAA CLO cohort median of 0.25% and matches the cheapest names in the group, including JAAA and CLOA.
The mandate is stated narrowly: capital preservation and current income from US dollar AAA-rated CLOs, the top-rated tranches of the structure.tcw.com
Roughly 300 positions, chosen deal by deal rather than tracked, so no single CLO carries the portfolio.
Pays monthly, and the portfolio itself grades out as one of the stronger books among AAA CLO funds.

Worth knowing

AAA Small and thinly traded next to JAAA, CLOA and PAAA, so bid-ask spreads can run wider and sizable orders need more care at the point of trade.
Roughly 30 positions means each bond carries real weight. Less spreading of risk than a portfolio holding hundreds of deals.
Capital preservation is the stated objective, not a promise. These are floating-rate corporate credit instruments and their prices move.

ACLO It trades lightly next to the giants of the category, so spreads can run wider. Limit orders earn their keep here.
Launched in late 2024, so the record is short and has not spanned a full credit cycle.
Active with no declared index, so there is no tracking figure to hold it to. Results ride on TCW's deal selection.

Full AAA profile⁠

Full ACLO profile⁠

AAA vs ACLO Holdings

How AAA and ACLO differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile5.8%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for AAA and ACLO.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in AAA and ACLO, widest gap first
Country	More in AAAMore in ACLO	AAA	ACLO
United States	AAA +94.2 points	100.0%	5.8%
Cayman Islands	ACLO +86.5 points	0.0%	86.5%
United Kingdom	ACLO +3.9 points	0.0%	3.9%
Ireland	ACLO +3.8 points	0.0%	3.8%
Bermuda	ACLO +0.1 points	0.0%	0.1%

Outside the US: ACLO 8% developed, 92% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

AAA56.0%
ACLO9.9%

Securities held

AAA32
ACLO367

Asset class

AAA: Fixed Income
ACLO: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. AAA holds 32 securities, ACLO 367.

All 34 AAA holdings⁠All 364 ACLO holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

AAA vs ACLO Cost

Overpaying ACLO vs AAA

$203

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

AAA 0.19%
$3,952
ACLO 0.20%
$4,155

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

AAA 0.19%
ACLO 0.20%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	AAA	ACLO	Overpaying
10	$347	$365	$18
20	$1,351	$1,421	$70
30	$3,952	$4,155	$203

Expense ratio

0.19%AAA, cheaper
0.20%ACLO

AAA0.19%ACLO0.20%

0.18%0.68%

Middle half of Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO) funds
Median 0.28%

AAA 2nd cheapest of 34 funds

ACLO 8th cheapest of 34 funds

AAA vs ACLO Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 2, 2026

Yield (12M): AAA 4.60%; ACLO 5.30%, better
Payout (12M): AAA $1.14; ACLO $2.67
Last payment: AAA $0.10; ACLO $0.20
Ex-dividend: AAA Oct 30, 2026; ACLO Nov 2, 2026
Paid on: AAA Nov 2, 2026; ACLO Pays Nov 4, 2026
Frequency: AAA Monthly; ACLO Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

AAAMonthly · 46 paymentsAll AAA payments⁠

ACLOMonthly · 25 paymentsAll ACLO payments⁠

AAA vs ACLO Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: AAA 1.0%ACLO 0.6%since Dec 2024
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: AAA 0.93ACLO 1.74since Dec 2024
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: AAA −2.7%ACLO −1.0%since Nov 2024
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: AAA 0.01ACLO 0.04; Market = 1

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