CLOA vs CLOZ

CLOAAiShares AAA CLO Active ETF

CLOZDEldridge BBB-B 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.

CLOZ Most CLO ETFs park in the AAA slice. CLOZ heads down the stack to the BBB and BB tranches, where coupons are fatter and credit losses land sooner. Actively managed, income first, paid monthly.

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.

CLOZ The Fund seeks current income and, secondarily, capital preservation.

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.

• CLOZ Mezzanine specialist: 80% of assets go to CLO tranches rated BBB+ to B- per the prospectus, up to 70% below investment grade. JAAA and PAAA stay at the top of the stack.sec.gov
• Income is the stated job, not a byproduct: current income first, capital preservation second, and cash goes out monthly.sec.gov
• Live since January 2023, run by a structured-credit shop that invests in CLOs and private ABS as both buyer and issuer. Actively managed, no index.eldridge.com

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.

• CLOZ The fee is the toll: 0.50% a year, double the typical CLO ETF and roughly 2.5x what AAA funds like JAAA and PAAA charge.
• Further down the waterfall: with up to 70% permitted in below-investment-grade tranches, credit stress shows up in prices here sooner than in AAA CLO funds.sec.gov
• No index to check it against, so tranche and CLO-manager selection is the adviser's call.eldridge.com

Full CLOA profile⁠

Full CLOZ profile⁠