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KBRA Releases Research – European CLO Manager Style Comparisons: April 2026 Update

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KBRA releases a report that compares collateralised loan obligation (CLO) manager styles or approaches to investing in leveraged loan pools. As part of KBRA’s series on European CLO manager styles, this report follows our September 2025 update, highlighting key changes since that publication and focusing on the differences between CLO managers when evaluated across selected cross-metrics. While the governing classifications are Opportunistic and Conservative, these are not intended to imply any positive or negative sentiment. Rather, they are used solely for informational purposes.

Key Takeaways

  • Turnover across the manager rankings was more uneven over the past seven months. The most opportunistic cohort remained relatively stable, with most managers retaining a top 10 status from our September 2025 update, while the conservative and more moderately leaning cohorts experienced greater migration.
  • In the most opportunistic cohort, eight managers remained in the top 10 from our September 2025 update. Intermediate Capital and Bain now occupy the top two positions, advancing five and seven places, respectively, relative to our September 2025 update. Bain’s move was driven by weighted average spread (WAS) and par build moving above the market average, while Intermediate Capital’s move reflected par build moving above the market average. New entrants to the top 10 were Polus and Sound Point, with the latter moving from the more moderately leaning cohort, rising 21 positions in the rankings. Notably, the upward migration of Polus and Sound Point was primarily driven by total equity yield moving from below the market average to above it, with Polus also benefiting from equity leverage shifting above average.
  • Only three managers—Brigade, Redding Ridge AM, and Pemberton—retained their stance in our most conservatively leaning manager list since September 2025, with Redding Ridge continuing to appear in the top 10 since June 2022.
  • Among the seven new entrants to the most conservative cohort, Oak Hill, Anchorage, and BlueBay each moved between 19 and 21 positions. These moves reflected a more conservative stance, including lower KBRA Weighted Average Rating Factor (K-WARF) for Oak Hill, lower WAS and K-WARF for Anchorage, and lower par build and total equity yield for BlueBay.
  • With the more moderately leaning manager cohort typically subject to greater ranking volatility, given their mid-range positioning, only two managers—Spire and CQS—remained in this group. Among the new entrants, CVC Credit and Neuberger Berman each moved 29 positions toward the more opportunistic end, with CVC Credit exhibiting a higher K-WARF and Neuberger Berman showing a higher total equity yield.

Click here to view the report.

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KBRA, one of the major credit rating agencies, is registered in the U.S., EU, and the UK. KBRA is recognized as a Qualified Rating Agency in Taiwan, and is also a Designated Rating Organization for structured finance ratings in Canada. As a full-service credit rating agency, investors can use KBRA ratings for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.

Doc ID: 1014526

European CLO manager style comparison report cover, April 2026 update by KBRA, highlighting investment strategy changes

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