EVLN vs JAAA

EVLNDEaton Vance Floating-Rate ETF

JAAAAJanus Henderson AAA CLO ETF

In short

EVLN Most funds in this aisle buy AAA-rated CLO tranches. EVLN goes a layer down and picks the underlying corporate loans itself: an actively run floating-rate credit book from Eaton Vance's long-tenured loan desk.

JAAA The AAA CLO trade in an ETF wrapper, running since 2020: floating-rate exposure to the senior slice of the corporate loan stack, aiming for capital preservation and income, at a fee below the group norm.

Stated mandate

EVLN The Fund seeks a high level of current income.

JAAA The fund seeks capital preservation and current income through floating-rate exposure to high-quality AAA-rated collateralized loan obligations.

Why people hold it

• EVLN Holds at least 80% of assets in floating-rate credit, led by senior secured corporate loans chosen one at a time rather than a passive slice of CLO paper.aaii.com
• Coupons reset with short-term rates, so the portfolio carries little interest-rate duration by design. This is an income mandate, not a rate call.
• Distributions land monthly, and the fund has grown into the multi-billion-dollar range since its 2024 launch.
• The mandate is global, covering loans to domestic and foreign borrowers rather than a US-only book.aaii.com

• JAAA Costs 0.20% a year, under the typical fee in its CLO peer group, and the newer AAA CLO rivals (CLOA, FAAA, ACLO) cluster at that same number rather than undercutting it.
• Very actively traded and a multi-billion-dollar fund, which is real market depth for an asset class that mostly lives in institutional hands.
• AAA CLO tranches pay floating coupons, so income resets as short-term rates move instead of being locked in. Distributions land monthly.
• Spread across roughly 400 positions at the top AAA rung of the loan capital stack, so no single deal carries the fund. One of the stronger builds in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• EVLN Costs 0.60% a year against a 0.25% peer median, and the AAA CLO funds it sits beside (JAAA, CLOA, PAAA) run near 0.20%. Active loan picking is what the extra buys.
• The mandate reaches past senior loans into CLO debt tranches, second lien and mezzanine credit, further down the capital stack than a AAA-only fund.aaii.com
• Launched in 2024, so the record inside the ETF wrapper is still short.

• JAAA Actively managed with no declared index behind it, so which deals and tranches the fund owns comes down to the manager, not a published rulebook.
• Floating rate cuts both ways: when short-term rates fall, the income these deals throw off falls with them.
• AAA is the senior rung, but it is still corporate loan credit, not Treasuries. The fund's stated aim is capital preservation, not a guarantee of it.

Full EVLN profile⁠

Full JAAA profile⁠