KopenTech CLO Weekly: BWIC Activity & Market Trends, Apr 27 – May 1, 2026

$1.22bn posted over the week, with $754mm trading at a 62.0% overall conversion rate — up from $656mm traded the prior week. Activity was effectively compressed into three full sessions, with Monday and Tuesday seeing light participation as the LSTA CLO Conference drew desks away — combined, the two days posted just $290mm against the week's $1.22bn total. Wednesday marked the return to full engagement, with $282mm trading on $458mm posted (61.7%), and Thursday's $418mm posting — the heaviest session — met a softer bid at just 44.6% conversion, pointing to supply outrunning demand into the back half of the week. AAA paper dominated at roughly 57% of traded flow.

AAA cleared at an average 124dm, roughly 4bps tighter week-on-week, with a DNT rate of just 2.9%. AA was the tightest hit rate in the stack at 95.8% with zero DNTs, clearing at 168dm. Single-A absorbed at 81.7% conversion around 191dm. BBB saw the sharpest dislocation, with conversion collapsing from 56.9% the prior week to 19.4% and DNT spiking to 16.7% — the highest in the stack — as bid-ask on cuspy profiles widened. BBs were the week's compression trade: 72.0% conversion at an average 636dm, with clearing prices spanning over six points of dispersion as tiering across vintage and quality remained pronounced. Equity saw its most active session in months late in the week, with long-duration, clean profiles drawing strong execution. Tone into the weekend was constructive; the bid was present and broadening.

KopenTech CLO Weekly: BWIC Activity & Market Trends, Apr 13–17, 2026

Weekly Market Tone & BWIC Color

$1.14bn posted across 38 lists, with $534.6mm trading at a 46.8% conversion rate - marginally softer than 50.0% the prior week. Flow was concentrated mid-week, with Wednesday alone clearing 77.8% of what was put up. Thursday's $473.6mm posting - the heaviest session of the week - met a wall of selectivity at just 35.6% conversion, pointing to supply outrunning demand as the week closed out. Senior paper dominated listings at 55.9% of posted flow, with BB comprising a further 19%.

Traded US CLO BWIC Volumes

IG cleared without stress. AAA averaged 99.87 (flat WoW), AA converted at 92% - the tightest hit rate in the stack - and BBB absorbed at 98.39 despite a 13% DNT rate. The real story was in BB, where clearing prices spanned 88.33 to 99.51 - over 11 points of dispersion around a 94.95 mean. That range is a tiering story, not a direction call: recent-vintage, higher-MVOC paper cleared into the high-90s while weaker structures and longer-WAL names were cut hard. BB DNT at 21% confirmed the selectivity. B and NR went untraded. Tone into the weekend was defensive; the bid was present but narrow.

Traded US CLO BWIC Volumes by Rating

What January Trading Reveals About CLO Secondary Liquidity

January CLO secondary markets showed a stabilising tone rather than acceleration. TRACE trading volumes held near $18.8bn, with multiple sessions above $1bn confirming consistent liquidity. US BSL AAA spreads tightened toward ~121bps, approaching cycle tights, while BB spreads retraced part of the year-end widening. Investor demand also rotated modestly down the capital stack, with high-yield tranches taking a larger share of activity as confidence improved. Read Kopentech's full article on Creditflux.