JAAA vs YCLO

JAAAAJanus Henderson AAA CLO ETF

YCLOCFranklin BSP 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.

YCLO Most CLO ETFs park in AAA. YCLO roams the whole investment-grade CLO stack, US and European deals alike, run by Franklin's Benefit Street Partners credit desk with capital preservation as the stated first job.

Stated mandate

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

YCLO The Fund seeks capital preservation and current income.

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.

• YCLO Active mandate across investment-grade CLO tranches in both US and European deals, hunting relative value instead of sitting only at the top of the stack.businesswire.comfranklintempleton.com
• Stated job is capital preservation and current income, and CLO tranches pay floating-rate coupons, so the income stream resets with short-term rates.businesswire.com
• The desk is not new to this: BSP is Franklin's alternative credit arm and its structured credit platform dates to 2009.businesswire.com

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.

• YCLO Costs 0.35% a year, above the CLO ETF median and above the big AAA-only names like JAAA, CLOA and PAAA. That is the price of the wider mandate.
• Reaching below AAA adds credit and downgrade risk; ratings on CLO tranches can be cut, and pricing can gap in stressed markets.businesswire.com
• Launched in 2026, thinly traded, and a concentrated book of a few dozen tranches, so wider spreads come with the territory. Income arrives quarterly.

Full JAAA profile⁠

Full YCLO profile⁠