PAAA vs RCLR

PAAAAPGIM AAA CLO ETF

RCLRFReckoner BBB-B CLO Reinvesting ETF

In short

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.

RCLR Most bond funds pipe cash out on a schedule. RCLR runs the other way: it holds Reckoner's BBB-B CLO strategy and aims to minimize payouts to at most one a year, keeping income inside the fund rather than in your account.

Stated mandate

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.

RCLR The Fund seeks total return while minimizing dividend or distribution payments.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• RCLR Rare shape for a US bond fund: the stated goal is total return while minimizing dividend and distribution payments, with payouts limited to one a year.
• One ticket into mid-tier CLO debt: it invests through the Reckoner BBB-B CLO ETF (RCLO) instead of leaving you to source individual tranches.
• Ordinary 1940 Act fund wrapper, the same regulated structure behind mainstream ETFs, so there is no partnership paperwork attached.
• Fixed income exposure without a payout drip to redeploy, since the design retains income rather than pushing it out each month.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• RCLR Costs 0.60% a year against a 0.40% median for high-yield bond ETFs, and well above index staples like SCYB at 0.03% and SPHY at 0.05%.
• Arrived in February 2026 as a small fund, so the record is short and trading has been light. Spreads can run wider than in the category's giants.
• Not the shape for spending money: distributions are deliberately minimized to at most one payment a year, so regular cash flow is not part of the design.

Full PAAA profile⁠

Full RCLR profile⁠