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Event CLO Symposium 2026
Comfortable with being uncomfortable
by Kathryn Gaw & Shant Fabricatorian
Despite macro concerns, CLO warehouses remain open. Deals may be delayed, but attendees at the Creditflux CLO Symposium were confident CLO issuance this year will match that of 2025
This year’s Creditflux CLO Symposium was held at a new venue, the recently-opened Chancery Rosewood in London’s Mayfair. At the two-day event, more than 1,000 delegates, most attending in-person, discussed pressing issues for CLOs and asset-backed finance (for the latter, see box, below).
While the shadow of the software sell-off loomed large, it was the situation in Iran that dominated conversations. But deals were getting done, albeit at a slow pace — and surprisingly, credit spreads that had widened on geopolitical worries were reversing. One attendee noted that the market is getting comfortable with discomfort.
Evis Progonati, managing editor, Debtwire ABS (left), with day one keynote speaker Ella Gude
Most market participants were bracing for a challenging credit environment and high levels of volatility. In addition to the inflationary dynamics stemming from the Iran war, the new “world trade system” created by US tariffs is inherently inflationary. Fiscal deficits are also “seemingly out of control” on both sides of the pond, and the independence of the US Federal Reserve is being challenged.
Yet despite the air of caution, almost all panellists and many attendees said they expected CLO issuance to be in line with 2025. Warehouses are open, and there have been no indications that any are likely to close, at least in the near future. No-one has openly predicted a fall in CLO issuance this year — it’s a matter of when, not if, CLOs come to market.
Lisa Lee, Creditflux managing editor, opens day two of the Creditflux symposium
Inflation drivers are here to stay
Day two of the symposium opened with a fireside chat between Tristram Leach, Apollo’s head of investments, Europe, and Creditflux managing editor Lisa Lee. Leach argued that the current global macroeconomic environment presents real and imminent challenges alongside the opportunities on offer. In addition to the widely-discussed disruptive effects of artificial intelligence on various sectors of the economy, including software providers, Leach said the structural drivers of inflation are “here to stay”.
All managers had spotless track records — that is clearly changing
Tristram Leach
Head of investments, Europe
Apollo
Notwithstanding the concerns around the disruptive effects of AI, Leach said the technology may well boost growth in some sectors — but that its effect on income across all sectors was extremely challenging to map.
In particular, the rapidity of the changes being wrought was a hallmark of the current era, he argued. “Across credit markets and across credit managers, there was so little dispersion in the past 20 years. Everyone had the same outcomes; all managers had spotless track records. That is clearly changing, [and] changing quite dramatically.”
Managers may just be swapping risks
Day two’s second fireside chat featured Rob Zable, global head of CLOs and liquid bank loans at Guggenheim Investments. Zable believes software risk is not going away, and the pace of AI-related change is much faster than most managers might believe.
“I don’t think the coast is clear,” he said, adding that those managers who try to reposition their software exposure may be selling that risk, but buying other business risks.
Guggenheim’s equity partner TWG Global has a joint venture with AI behemoth Palantir, and Zable said that building a relationship with Palantir has been very informative as a way of helping the firm understand the more complicated cross-currents.
“The change that we’re seeing — the impact of AI is not only going to continue, but when I talk to those guys, it feels to me like that pace of change is only going to accelerate,” said Zable.
The pace of change is only going to accelerate
Rob Zable
Global head of CLOs and liquid bank loans
Guggenheim Investments
Day two’s second fireside chat featured Rob Zable, global head of CLOs and liquid bank loans at Guggenheim Investments. Zable believes software risk is not going away, and the pace of AI-related change is much faster than most managers might believe.
“I don’t think the coast is clear,” he said, adding that those managers who try to reposition their software exposure may be selling that risk, but buying other business risks.
The new conference venue
Guggenheim’s equity partner TWG Global has a joint venture with AI behemoth Palantir, and Zable said that building a relationship with Palantir has been very informative as a way of helping the firm understand the more complicated cross-currents.
“The change that we’re seeing — the impact of AI is not only going to continue, but when I talk to those guys, it feels to me like that pace of change is only going to accelerate,” said Zable.
Asset-backed securities
European ABS recalibrates as volatility returns
by Evis Progonati
The European ABS market is operating against a complex backdrop, as investors and issuers adjust to higher rates and renewed volatility, according to participants at the Creditflux CLO Symposium.
Geopolitics has moved to the forefront and higher rates are now embedded. Despite this, issuance continues across core ABS sectors, albeit at a measured pace.
Spreads have held relatively stable, supported by the asset class’s short duration and structural protections. ABS continues to offer a relatively low volatility route to credit exposure, even as broader markets react sharply to macro developments.
In private ABS markets, scrutiny is increasing
What is shifting is how capital is being deployed. Investors are more selective, and structures are being tested more rigorously. At the same time, the distinction between public securitisation and private credit is narrowing. Pre-placed tranches and private placements are increasingly common.
Credit fundamentals remain mixed. The risk of another cost-of-living shock across Europe is a concern, with non-prime borrowers expected to be most exposed, particularly in the UK. However, there has been a shift toward professionalised borrower bases, offering some resilience within underlying collateral.
In private ABS markets, scrutiny is increasing. Investors are placing greater emphasis on due diligence, cash tracing and pool audits, reflecting concerns around transparency and risks such as double-pledging. At the same time, new asset classes such as data centres are introducing structural complexity, leaving investors to work out the right approach.
Overall, the ABS market is not retreating. It is recalibrating, and there is a growing sense regulators are more comfortable with securitisation, which should support growth.
Points up front
From the CIA to CLOs
For some, the Creditflux CLO Symposium’s new venue revived slightly painful memories of the bureaucratic quagmire of waiting for passports and visas.
A core part of the old US Embassy complex, known as the Chancery, has been transformed into London’s newest glamorous hotel, sparkling in posh Grosvenor Square in Mayfair.
The famous eagle still perches on top of the building, but it now heralds an upmarket rooftop bar rather than American might. And inside, on 20-21 April, in place of diplomats and CIA operatives, the hallways of the freshly-dubbed Chancery Rosewood were filled with VIPs from the CLO and ABS community.
“It’s completely different from when I was here last,” said one of the Symposium’s American attendees. “Then, there were plastic chairs.”
It’s quite a change for the building created by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, who also designed the TWA Flight Center at New York’s JFK Airport and the Gateway Arch in St Louis.
Transformed: the old US embassy
