CLO funds pick up where they left off

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March 2021 | Issue 232

Data

funds

Fund performance

CLO funds pick up where they left off

New year, same funds leading the way with CLO strategies the top performers in January, claiming the majority of spots in our top 10. Only four funds belong to other categories, including our top-performing fund, which made a return of almost double that of the second highest performer.

Creditflux index returns January (%)

Wasserstein has managed to excel this month and push its annualised return since inception to 10.72%.

Of the CLO funds, Lupus Alpha reached second and third with a pair of CLO Opportunity Notes funds, with one of them reaching 22.90% in the last 12 months. Structured finance performed well as a category, gaining 2.30% according to the Creditflux index, with representation from Prytania and Altum in the top 10.

A sharp rally early this year meant 84% of funds in Creditflux’s database posted positive returns. 14% of funds have also reached 12-month returns in the double-figures, with Wasserstein, Napier Park and Millstreet leading the way.

Leading fund

Wasserstein Debt Opportunities Fund

Wasserstein Debt Opportunities has had a flying start to 2021, returning 21.7% in January. The fund was one of the top performers in the Creditflux database in 2020 after hitting 16.54%. As a result of this month’s return, the fund has also hit 40.44% in the last 12 months.

Rajay Bagaria, CIO of Wasserstein says: “In January, we harvested a significant position in a restructured credit that we have closely followed and invested in over the past 20-years. With the ratings downgrade cycle flipping to a potential upgrade cycle, CLOs and mutual funds have much stronger hands today than last year.”

“Given improving market technicals and the tailwind of demand for floating rate assets, we could see the leveraged loan market benefiting greatly from fiscal stimulus and reflationary trends through 2021.”.

Top credit funds in January (%)