I don’t post on here often, but I do read your posts from time to time and thought some of you might be able to help me out. I have an interview next week for what I would consider an entry level position as a research analyst on the CLO desk at my company. Not having worked closely with CLOs in the past, what should I focus on when preparing for the interview? Obviously, being able to understand the basic structure and CFs of the CLO is important, but I would like to hear what you guys have to say about it.
You need to understand the leveraged loan market (CLO collateral). You can google search that. Defaults and recovery rates are really important to CLO tranche valuation, particularly defaults b/c CLO investors care about cash interest payments. The oil and gas market in ’15-’16 was of great concern and now it is definitely retail.
Check out the LSTA website. They have a presentation in June given in Hong Kong explaining the US leveraged loan/CLO market well.
Check out Eagle Point Credit Co. It is mostly a CLO equity investment vehicle. They are publicly traded and you can check out their investor presentations. If you have an hour, definitely listen to one of their conference calls. The CEO of the company is a good speaker and knows the CLO market very well.
CLO investors often use Intex for modeling. If you have familiarity with that it would be helpful.