THE VALUE OF INTEREST RATE FLOORS IN EUROPEAN CLOs While we typically think of CLO debt as a floating-rate investment paying a margin over Euribor, since 2015 most European CLOs have included a Euribor floor set at zero. They have thus effectively paid fixed rates of interest since 2015 when 3m Euribor dropped into negative […]

All CLO managers produce lengthy pitch books presenting the firm’s skill sets and geographic spread, outlining their investment philosophy, and listing the names of their key personnel from chief investment officers down to analysts and traders. Some, such as Barings, BlackRock and Oaktree, like to include the biographies of some key professionals. In these documents […]

WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH AAA CLOs? In this Reflections we explore the reliance of the CLO market on Japanese investors, the underperformance of CLO AAAs compared to other credit products during 2019 year-to-date and recent moves towards a more granular and diverse AAA investor base. CLO MARKET RELIANCE ON JAPANESE BANKS We have often highlighted […]

Managing credit risk and avoiding credit losses are key drivers of CLO returns. A strong focus on potential sources of credit risk is essential when considering investments at this point in the credit cycle. Contrary to general expectations of widespread defaults, Fair Oaks Capital believes that corporate default losses over the next five years will […]