CLOA vs CLOC

CLOAAiShares AAA CLO Active ETF

CLOCBAAM Crescent CLO ETF

In short

CLOA BlackRock's play in AAA CLOs: active credit picking measured against J.P. Morgan's CLOIE AAA index, 0.20% a year, spread over roughly 400 positions. A billion-dollar-plus book built since its 2023 launch.

CLOC A 2025 arrival in the CLO aisle that undercuts the category on fee: 0.18% a year, below the typical CLO fund and below the giants it competes with. Its mandate leads with capital preservation, then low correlation and current income.

Stated mandate

CLOA The fund seeks exposure to U.S. dollar-denominated AAA-rated collateralized loan obligations, using active credit selection to pursue income and capital preservation with potentially low volatility.

CLOC The Fund seeks capital preservation, low correlation with traditional asset classes, and current income.

Why people hold it

• CLOA Charges 0.20% a year, below the 0.25% typical for CLO funds and level with what most of the category's biggest names (JAAA, FAAA, ACLO) charge.
• Roughly 400 separate CLO positions, one of the deepest books in its peer group, so no single deal carries the fund.
• Actively run: the team selects deals and CLO managers instead of buying whatever a benchmark holds. The CLOIE AAA index is the yardstick, not the rulebook.
• Income arrives monthly, and it sits among the easier funds in its cohort to get in and out of.

• CLOC Cheapest seat in the CLO aisle: 0.18% a year against a 0.25% category median, and a step under the biggest AAA CLO funds (JAAA, CLOA, PAAA, FAAA, ACLO at 0.19%-0.20%).
• The mandate is unusually explicit: capital preservation first, low correlation with traditional asset classes second, current income third.
• Young, but it already stands in the upper half of a crowded 27-fund CLO group.

Worth knowing

• CLOA Active means manager-dependent. There is no index to fall back on, so outcomes hinge on which deals the desk picks.
• The mandate pursues income and capital preservation with potentially low volatility. That is the aim, not a floor; CLO prices still move.
• Trading since January 2023, so its record is short next to long-running bond funds and covers a narrow slice of credit history.

• CLOC Thinly traded next to the multi-billion-dollar CLO names, so spreads can be wider and larger orders take patience.
• Launched in October 2025, so the history is short and there is not yet a full credit cycle to judge it by.
• Distributions have come on an irregular schedule rather than a fixed monthly rhythm, so income timing is less predictable.

Full CLOA profile⁠

Full CLOC profile⁠