Newcomers are also expected to face questions over their viability. “For new entrants, there’s an added level of scrutiny in terms of experience and tenor,” said Sonal Patel, managing director at Ocorian, speaking at the same conference. “It’s going to be difficult for managers that do not have much experience to be a repeat issuer.”

Five new managers printed a 2.0 CLO for the first time on each continent in 2020. AB, Gulf Stream, New Mountain, Pimco and Silver Rock brought their first CLOs of the 2.0 era backed by broadly syndicated loans in the US in 2020, while in Europe AlbaCore, BlueBay, Bridgepoint, CBAM and Palmer Square all arrived as first-time issuers.

2020 saw the fastest pace of US M&A activity since the 2008 financial crisis. Crestline Denali exited the business, selling its CLO contracts to Ares Management prior to the market sell-off in March, while Garrison Capital sold its CLOs to Anchorage Capital and Mount Logan Capital over the course of Q2 and Q3. Los Angeles-based Ducenta Squared Asset Management bought the CLO management contract for a CLO managed by Tortoise Credit Strategies in April.

Morgan Stanley IM took on Assurant’s former CLO platform and bought a majority stake in Eaton Vance. And Pine Brook Capital Partners sold CLO manager WhiteStar Asset Management to Clearlake Capital Group.