CLOA vs JBBB

CLOAAiShares AAA CLO Active ETF

JBBBCJanus Henderson B-BBB 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.

JBBB Most CLO ETFs stop at AAA. JBBB deliberately goes down the stack to BBB+ through B- tranches: floating-rate income with real credit risk attached, from the same Janus Henderson shop that runs its AAA sibling.

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.

JBBB The fund seeks capital preservation and current income through floating-rate exposure to collateralized loan obligations generally rated from BBB+ through B-.

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.

• JBBB The mezzanine option in a shelf full of AAA funds. While category leaders JAAA, CLOA and PAAA buy top-of-stack paper, JBBB targets CLOs rated BBB+ through B-.janushenderson.com
• CLO coupons float with short-term rates, so interest-rate duration is minimal. Stated goals are capital preservation and current income, and it pays monthly.
• Spread across roughly 220 positions inside a multi-billion-dollar, moderately traded fund, running as a standard 1940 Act ETF since January 2022.

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.

• JBBB 0.47% a year, close to double the 0.25% median for CLO funds and the roughly 0.20% the large AAA rivals charge.
• BBB+ to B- tranches sit further down the credit ladder than the AAA paper most peers hold. More credit risk is the point, not an accident.
• Floating rate cuts both ways: as short-term rates move lower, the coupons the portfolio collects reset lower with them.

Full CLOA profile⁠

Full JBBB profile⁠