JA vs PAAA

JACJanus Henderson AA-A CLO ETF

PAAAAPGIM AAA CLO ETF

In short

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.

PAAA PGIM's entry in the AAA CLO race: an actively run book of the senior-most slice of collateralized loan obligations, floating-rate, priced at 0.19%, paid out monthly. Same playbook as the category's biggest names, a hair cheaper.

Stated mandate

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.

PAAA The Fund seeks to maximize total return through current income and capital appreciation. It invests primarily in U.S. dollar-denominated AAA-rated CLOs and is actively managed rather than designed to replicate a specific index.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• PAAA At 0.19%, one of the cheapest tickets into AAA CLOs, undercutting the 0.20% charged by CLOA, JAAA, FAAA and ACLO and sitting well below the category median.
• Keeps at least 80% of investable assets in US dollar CLOs rated AAA at purchase, the tranche that stands first in line for cash from the underlying loan pool.mutualfunds.compgim.com
• CLO coupons float, so the income stream resets with short-term rates rather than locking to a fixed coupon. Cash goes out monthly.pgim.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, with spread and execution behavior among the strongest in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• PAAA Actively managed against the JP Morgan CLOIE AAA Index, not built to match it. Holdings and results can diverge from the benchmark by design.
• The AAA stamp sits atop a pool of leveraged loans to below-investment-grade borrowers, and up to 20% of investable assets can go outside AAA-rated CLOs.mutualfunds.com
• Launched in 2023, so the track record is short and does not yet span a full credit cycle.

Full JA profile⁠

Full PAAA profile⁠