Best Of
Best CLO ETFs in 2026
CLO ETFs compared by assets, tranche exposure, expenses, and credit risks.
Data updated September 2026 · 25 ETFs
The short answer
CLO ETFs hold securities backed by pools of corporate loans. Tranches have different payment priorities and loss exposure. AAA ratings do not make a fund cash, a Treasury investment, or principal-guaranteed.
Floating coupons can reduce sensitivity to changes in benchmark interest rates, but credit spreads, loan losses, liquidity, and valuation changes can still reduce NAV and market price. Income can fall when reference rates decline.
Who this page is for
Best for
- Researchers comparing CLO tranche mandates and credit exposure
- Readers assessing floating-rate income and liquidity risks
Not a fit for
- Anyone requiring insured deposits or Treasury-only exposure
- Investors who cannot accept principal losses or variable distributions
Analysis
A CLO divides loan cash flows into securities with different payment priorities. More senior tranches have structural protection, but ratings are assessments, not guarantees. Risk also depends on loan quality, diversification, manager decisions, structural protections, and fund fees. Different CLO ETFs can own materially different tranche mixes.
Floating-rate exposure does not eliminate losses. A fund can decline as credit spreads widen or liquidity deteriorates, even when benchmark rates rise. ETF shares can trade at a discount to NAV during stress. A capital-preservation objective does not guarantee principal. Check the current prospectus and holdings rather than assuming every AAA or mezzanine fund has the same exposure.
Sources: Janus Henderson JAAA prospectus
Risks specific to this category
- Duration and credit risk: rising rates mark down longer-duration NAVs, and credit-spread widening can hit lower-rated holdings hard in a single risk-off week.
- Concentration in one theme: most funds here focus on fixed income, so the whole list tends to draw down together when that corner of the market falls out of favor — diversification across the table is lower than the fund count suggests.
- Liquidity and closure risk: 8 of the 25 funds listed hold under $100M in assets, and small funds tend to trade with wider bid-ask spreads and face a higher risk of liquidation.
- Short track records: 13 of the 25 funds launched within the last three years, so their distribution history is too short to judge payout durability across a full market cycle.
- Distributions are not contractual: each payout is declared period by period, so the yields on this page can fall without notice when portfolio income, option premium, or fund policy changes.
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Largest CLO ETFs
The three biggest CLO ETFs by assets under management.
Yield distribution
Expense ratio distribution
Income projection
Estimated income if the current average distribution rate of 5.03% held for a full year with share prices unchanged. Distribution rate is not total return—a fund can pay a large distribution while its share price falls—so treat these as an upper-bound illustration, not a forecast.
| Investment | Annual income | Monthly income | Weekly income |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $503 | $42 | $10 |
| $25,000 | $1,258 | $105 | $24 |
| $50,000 | $2,515 | $210 | $48 |
| $100,000 | $5,030 | $419 | $97 |
Issuer breakdown
Distribution of ETFs by fund issuer, showing how concentrated or varied the sponsor lineup is.
How this list is built
This is a screen of tracked CLO ETFs with reported assets, not the complete investable market.
- The fund must be an ETF with CLO in its name or collateralized loan in its objective; cloud-computing names are excluded.
- Positive reported AUM is required. Missing AUM does not establish that a fund is untraded.
- Up to 25 qualifying funds appear by AUM, largest first. Assets are not a measure of safety or a guarantee of trading liquidity.
All 25 ETFs
| Ticker | Name | Issuer | Yield | Expense ratio | AUM | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAAA | Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF | Janus Henderson | 4.93% | 0.20% | $31.0B | Monthly |
| PAAA | PGIM AAA CLO ETF | PGIM Investments | 4.62% | 0.19% | $12.9B | Monthly |
| CLOA | iShares AAA CLO Active ETF | iShares | 4.93% | 0.20% | $2.3B | Monthly |
| CLOI | VanEck CLO ETF | VanEck | 5.09% | 0.36% | $1.5B | Monthly |
| JBBB | Janus Henderson B-BBB CLO ETF | Janus Henderson | 6.07% | 0.47% | $1.5B | Monthly |
| CLOZ | Eldridge BBB-B CLO ETF | Eldridge Capital Management | 6.77% | 0.50% | $786M | Monthly |
| ACLO | TCW AAA CLO ETF | TCW | 4.52% | 0.20% | $580M | Monthly |
| CLOX | Eldridge AAA CLO ETF | Eldridge Capital Management | 4.93% | 0.20% | $320M | Monthly |
| PSQA | Palmer Square CLO Senior Debt ETF | Palmer Square Capital Management | 3.80% | 0.21% | $211M | Quarterly |
| PCMM | BondBloxx Private Credit CLO ETF | BondBloxx | 5.72% | 0.68% | $210M | Monthly |
| CLOB | VanEck AA-BB CLO ETF | VanEck | 5.95% | 0.45% | $186M | Monthly |
| JA | Janus Henderson AA-A CLO ETF | Janus Henderson | 4.87% | 0.29% | $171M | Monthly |
| NCLO | Nuveen AA-BBB CLO ETF | Nuveen | 5.31% | 0.26% | $159M | Monthly |
| TRPA | Hartford AAA CLO ETF | Hartford Funds | 4.72% | — | $129M | Monthly |
| FAAA | Fidelity AAA CLO ETF | Fidelity Investments | 4.55% | — | $113M | Monthly |
| AAAC | Columbia AAA CLO ETF | Columbia Threadneedle | 4.89% | 0.20% | $104M | Monthly |
| AAAP | Pacer Barings CLO Market Flex ETF | Pacer | 4.57% | 0.39% | $102M | Monthly |
| BCLO | iShares BBB-B CLO Active ETF | iShares | 6.40% | 0.45% | $89M | Monthly |
| AAA | AAF First Priority CLO Bond ETF | Alternative Access Funds | 4.33% | 0.19% | $68M | Monthly |
| YCLO | Franklin BSP CLO ETF | Franklin Templeton | 5.05% | — | $50M | Monthly |
| RCLO | Reckoner BBB-B CLO ETF | Reckoner Capital Management LLC | 5.68% | 0.50% | $45M | Monthly |
| FCLO | Fidelity CLO ETF | Fidelity Investments | 7.24% | — | $36M | Monthly |
| RAAA | Reckoner Yield Enhanced AAA CLO ETF | Reckoner Capital Management LLC | 5.45% | 0.30% | $35M | Monthly |
| AAAD | PGIM AAA CLO Aggregate Duration ETF | PGIM Investments | 0.38% | 0.19% | $26M | — |
| PCLO | Virtus SEIX AAA Private Credit CLO ETF | Virtus Investment Partners | 4.99% | 0.29% | $20M | Monthly |
Frequently asked questions
Are AAA CLO ETFs equivalent to cash or Treasury funds?
No. AAA CLO ETFs hold structured credit and can lose principal. Senior payment priority offers protection within the CLO structure, but it does not provide deposit insurance or the credit exposure of a Treasury security.
How often is this list updated?
The data on this page is refreshed regularly using the latest available distribution rates, expense ratios, and AUM figures. Last updated September 2026.
What is the average yield of these ETFs?
The average distribution yield across the 25 ETFs on this list is 5.03%. Individual yields range from 0.38% to 7.24%.
Can a CLO ETF lose value when rates rise?
Yes. Floating coupons reduce one source of rate sensitivity; credit spreads, liquidity, valuation changes, and loan performance can still cause losses.
What should I compare beyond the distribution rate?
Tranche ratings and payment priority, underlying loan exposure, manager mandate, expenses, bid-ask spreads, premiums or discounts, and performance through credit stress. The distribution rate alone does not measure risk.
Explore more
Compare CLO credit exposure with Treasury and other bond funds by holdings, credit risk, rate sensitivity, and liquidity. Their safety profiles are different.
Learn the method
The metrics and risks behind this list, explained in the Academy.
From the blog
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