Janus Henderson launches its first AAA CLO ETF in Europe

Janus Henderson Investors is today announcing the launch of its first active fixed income ETF in Europe: the Janus Henderson Tabula EUR AAA CLO UCITS ETF (JCL0).

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Ignacio De La Maza, Head of EMEA & LatAm Client Group at Janus Henderson

The firm has significant experience in securitised investing globally, with a specialised team of six portfolio managers, with an average of 27 years industry experience, and nine dedicated securitised analysts. Together, they manage assets totalling over $36 billion[1], with CLOs representing the most substantial portion of the firm’s securitised assets.

JCL0 will be managed by Colin Fleury, Head of Secured Credit, alongside Denis Struc and Ian Bettney, portfolio managers on the Secured Credit team. The team has a long-standing track record in CLO investing and has worked together at the firm since 2010. The fund will primarily invest in European AAA-rated CLOs, and can invest up to 30% in non-European AAA CLOs that are compliant with European securitised regulations. Colin, Denis and Ian work closely with Janus Henderson’s US securitisation experts to evaluate non-European investment ideas. The portfolio management team has access to market-leading tools and systems enabling in-depth analysis of CLO collateral, aiming to identify relative value opportunities, and will draw upon the expertise of the securitised and loans specialists at the firm.

Colin Fleury, Head of Secured Credit at Janus Henderson, said:

“AAA CLOs are a compelling alternative to investment grade corporates, typically offering higher yields and more credit spread for a better-quality asset with lower sensitivity to interest rate volatility. They can significantly enhance clients’ potential to achieve higher levels of income in their fixed income or cash allocations.

As a global leader in CLOs, we believe our rigorous due diligence and portfolio construction process can provide competitive risk-adjusted returns relative to traditional fixed income asset classes”.

Janus Henderson has been at the forefront of active fixed income ETF innovation and has an extremely successful proposition in the US where it is the fourth largest provider of actively managed fixed income ETFs globally[2] and the largest securitised active ETF manager[3]. The firm offers a number of pioneering fixed income ETFs in the US including a US AAA CLO ETF, which is the largest CLO ETF globally, and a US BBB CLO ETF. In addition, the firm was awarded GlobalCapital’s inaugural CLO ETF Provider of the Year award in 2024[4].

Ignacio De La Maza, Head of EMEA & LatAm Client Group at Janus Henderson, said:

“Building on our strong track record and success in the US, I’m delighted that we are now extending our expertise in securitised investing to our clients in Europe.

The Janus Henderson Tabula EUR AAA CLO UCITS ETF will provide investors access to the high-quality, floating rate European AAA CLO market, historically only made available to institutional investors, in a liquid and transparent manner”.

Michael John Lytle, CEO of Tabula, added:

“AAA CLO ETFs have been one of the most important innovations in the global ETF market in recent years. The specialised expertise required to construct robust CLO portfolios means that a dedicated team like the one at Janus Henderson is key to making this asset class accessible to a broader audience. JCL0’s UCITS ETF structure provides transparent pricing, a high degree of liquidity and increased multi-region accessibility thereby democratising access to the CLO market”.

The Janus Henderson Tabula European AAA CLO ETF is the latest addition to the firm’s active ETF proposition in Europe following the launch of the Janus Henderson Tabula Japan High Conviction Equity UCITS ETF (JCPN) in October 2024, and the Janus Henderson Tabula Pan European High Conviction Equity UCITS ETF (JCEU)  in November 2024.

The fund will initially list on Xetra with ticker JCL0 followed by listings on the London Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana, and will be available in all major European markets.

[1] Source: Janus Henderson Investors, as of 30 September 2024

[2] Source: Morningstar as of 30 September 2024

[3] Source: Bloomberg as of 30 November 2024

[4] The CLO ETF Provider of the Year is chosen at GlobalCapital’s discretion and is based on a process that includes both self-submitted applications and independent research conducted by the awarding body. Global Capital evaluates organizations based on their involvement in innovative or complex transactions, execution quality and structuring, business growth and advancement, and the extent of their securitization capabilities.

Source : ETFWorld.co.uk