CLOA vs JA

CLOAAiShares AAA CLO Active ETF

JACJanus Henderson AA-A 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.

JA Most CLO ETFs pile into the AAA tranche. JA steps one rung down to AA and A rated, floating-rate CLOs, run by the same Janus securitized desk behind JAAA and JBBB. Fee: 0.29% net of a waiver through February 28, 2028.

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.

JA The fund seeks capital preservation and current income through an actively managed portfolio focused on high-quality AA to A rated collateralized loan obligations.

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.

• JA The mandate names its rung: AA and A rated, floating-rate CLOs, benchmarked to a 70/30 blend of the JPMorgan CLO A and CLO AA indexes. You know where in the capital stack you sit.janushenderson.comjanushenderson.com 2
• Coupons reset with short-term rates, so interest-rate duration stays short and the fund behaves unlike a fixed-rate bond fund. Income is paid monthly.janushenderson.com
• Same securitized desk that runs the firm's established AAA and B-BBB CLO ETFs (JAAA and JBBB). JA fills the middle rung their lineup was missing.janushenderson.com
• 0.29% net of a waiver through February 28, 2028 (0.32% gross), near the category median. AAA-only JAAA charges 0.20% and PAAA 0.19%, but those buy a different tranche.

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.

• JA AA and A tranches sit below AAA in a CLO's payment waterfall: more spread on offer, more exposure to downgrades and to defaults in the underlying loan pool.sec.gov
• Launched in February 2026, so the track record is short and has not yet been tested across a full credit cycle.
• Thinly traded and modest in size next to the AAA heavyweights, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads.

Full CLOA profile⁠

Full JA profile⁠