JAAA vs JBBB

JAAAAJanus Henderson AAA CLO ETF

JBBBCJanus Henderson B-BBB CLO ETF

In short

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.

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

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

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 JAAA profile⁠

Full JBBB profile⁠