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Analysis CLOs
Big managers hold steady in CLO boom
by Robin Armitage
After a late surge, 2024 saw USD 588bn of new global issuance from 1,331 CLOs, as well as the launch of multiple managers. But the biggest players mostly held on to their high rankings
Last year saw records broken across the board in the primary CLO market, with almost USD 588bn of global issuance from 1,331 CLOs — a sharp increase from the 403 that priced in 2023. Tighter spreads in May and late November encouraged managers to bring deals to the market, driving issuance. Among them were multiple debut managers, including Obra, Varagon, Comvest and Willow Tree.
Primary issuance spiked in October and November, as USD 137bn worth of CLOs priced. This helped drive predictions that 2025 could be another record year.
Global CLO issuance 2024 ($bn)
Source: Creditflux
Biggest managers issue most CLOs
The CLO manager rankings remained largely unchanged from 2023, although Ares was welcomed into the top five. Among the swathes of issuance in 2024, the biggest managers were also some of the most prolific. Blackstone, for example, not only retained its crown with USD 53bn of CLOs by principal liabilities, but it also issued the most CLOs during the year.
588
bn
$
Total global primary CLO issuance in 2024
Carlyle followed closely behind in second place, while also managing the third-highest level of global issuance in 2024. A USD 12bn gap opened up between Carlyle and a chasing pack of UBS, Ares, PGIM and Golub, which were all within a USD 1.6bn range.
Breaking down the rankings by principal liabilities, Blackstone’s number one spot has been achieved by its consistency across each CLO market. The manager has the second highest US BSL AUM and European AUM, only beaten by Carlyle (by USD 3.3bn) and CVC (by EUR 1.1bn). While it only has a handful of middle market CLOs, their collective USD 4.7bn size is enough to make it the biggest CLO manager in the world.
4.7
%
Palmer Square’s market share in Europe — where it remained top
A good year for UBS in BSL
Our US BSL issuance manager rankings were even closer than the AUM rankings — and feature many of the same big players. UBS pipped Blackstone to take the top spot, jumping from third place and beating out the largest CLO manager in the world by only USD 11m — barely a tranche worth! Just behind, Elmwood and Carlyle were also competing, with only USD 60m between them.
At the top of the middle market, Golub asserted its dominance in both CLO issuance and principal liabilities. On US MM issuance, the firm took 15% market share and created a USD 2.5bn gap to Antares in second place.
In Europe, Palmer Square retained its top position from 2023, but its market share dropped from 7.13% to 4.70%. This highlights the greater interest in CLOs in the region, after multiple managers debuted, including Pemberton, Serone and CIC Private Debt.
In the global CLO arranger rankings, after just missing out on first place at the end of 2023 to Bank of America, JPMorgan claimed the crown this year in commanding fashion. The arranger pulled away from the pack in the middle of the year, building a sizeable USD 7bn gap to Bank of America in second.
Bank of America had close competition from Citi, with only USD 2.2bn between the two. However, the real battle throughout 2024 was between BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley. The two had been neck-and-neck throughout the year, with BNP Paribas only pushing ahead through a flurry of December issuance that finally created a sizeable USD 5bn gap.
The middle market competition was headed up by GreensLedge, with Societe Generale just behind and only USD 1bn separating the top four. In Europe, Jefferies remained at the top, followed closely by JPMorgan. The two arrangers increased their market share in the region in 2023 from 16.14% and 12.72%, respectively, to 17.31% and 15.97%.
44
%
US Bank is the biggest CLO trustee with an increased market share
Milbank keeps its counsel spot
Our legal advisory firm rankings divide the market into manager counsel mandates and arranger counsel mandates. After a close-run success in 2023, Milbank took the global manager counsel lead by a distance in 2024, with a market share of 23% after working on nearly 300 deals.
The arranger counsel rankings highlighted even more dominance in the market, as Paul Hastings swooped in to take a 41% share, working on over 530 deals worth USD 244bn worldwide. Interestingly, despite the enormous CLO issuance in 2024, Paul Hastings retained the exact same market share as in 2023. On the trustee side, US Bank retains its position of the largest CLO trustee globally from 2023, this time increasing its market share from 41% to 44%.
CLO arranger global issuance 2024 ($bn)
Source: Creditflux
In the US manager counsel table, Milbank cornered the BSL market, with a 24% market share worth USD 105bn. Dechert meanwhile heads the MM table, with 36% of the market and USD 24bn of deals.
On the European manager counsel side, Milbank also takes the lead after rebuilding and growing its European CLO team to its largest ever size. The law firm has claimed 26% of the market in the region.
Considering arranger counsels, Paul Hastings claims first place in the US BSL market and second place in both the US MM and European markets. Cadwalader retains its position as top arranger counsel in both the US MM and Europe from Q3. On the European side, it added almost 20 deals to its tally in the final months of the year.
At the time of writing, 2025 CLO issuance is already storming ahead. Exactly 100 deals have priced in a three-week window. So far it looks like the market is keeping pace with the market’s bullish predictions.
Methodology
- All data used for these rankings is as of 31 December 2024.
- Our issuance totals exclude double-counting due to jointly arranged deals. In jointly arranged deals, credit is split between the lead and co-arranger.
- For queries and corrections please contact data@creditflux.com.
