As it passes $1 trillion in size, the CLO market continues to attract new interest, even in the face of economic headwinds, with growth from new entrants and existing CLO managers expanding their existing strategies. Administering this complex type of asset in an increasingly fast-moving market, however, often requires a technology rethink. Typically, existing trading and portfolio management systems used for other asset classes are not fit-for-purpose when it comes to CLOs and syndicated loans.

It's against this backdrop that our credit management solutions team has recently engaged with LevPro, which provides a cutting-edge trade order management system (OMS) for loan investment teams. We have long offered market-leading capabilities for loan administration to operations teams at top syndicated loan fund managers through our WSO software and services. By adding LevPro's modern, SaaS-based platform to our toolbox, we are delivering an integrated front- to-back-office CLO solution that brings a new level of transparency and efficiency to the market.

With LevPro's SaaS-based architecture, clients are up and running in a matter of weeks, rather than months or years, which is typical for traditional OMSs. Additional benefits include lower fees, since there is a significantly reduced need for professional services support, and shorter release cycles, enabling portfolio managers to quickly get the latest software updates. We have also developed integrated workflows and collaboration tools that enable real-time access to data and the ability to migrate away from end-of-day flush and fill systems.

The integrated CLO solution supports end-to-end loan investment management, providing the front office with transparency across all credit lifecycle events, ensuring investment decisions are made accurately and in a timely manner. Specific capabilities include:

• Forward deal calendar with integrated data
• Trade order management and settlement
• Pipeline workflow and credit research
• Loan administration, including activity processing, position and cash reconciliation
• CLO compliance reporting, and CLO trustee compliance reconciliation
• Portfolio dashboards and reporting

LevPro was launched by industry veterans who were traders and portfolio managers at prominent CLO managers. They have built their products in collaboration with peers in the front office who were not satisfied with existing offerings. LevPro utilizes cutting-edge cloud technology and is SaaS-based, enabling new features and functionality to be delivered to the market at record speed. CLO managers who use S&P Global Market Intelligence loan products have seen additional benefits from also adopting LevPro.

The new collaboration will build on a mutual client base, with a particular focus on CLO and syndicated loan fund portfolio managers and traders in the U.S. and Canada. We are working together to offer a competitive solution to a long-standing challenge that can support the CLO market in the next stage of its transformation.

For more information on the partnership or to organize a demo, please get in touch with robert.moeller@spglobal.com

S&P Global provides industry-leading data, software and technology platforms and managed services to tackle some of the most difficult challenges in financial markets. We help our customers better understand complicated markets, reduce risk, operate more efficiently and comply with financial regulation.

This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.