Palmer Square Capital Management, a provider of structured credit, corporate credit and hedge fund strategies to a wide range of investors, announced that it has teamed up with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as calculation agent and distributor to launch two new indices designed to benchmark the Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) markets.

The Palmer Square CLO Debt Index and Palmer Square CLO Senior Debt Index are the first broadly distributed daily benchmarks for U.S. dollar denominated CLOs backed by broadly syndicated leveraged loans. CLOs are investment vehicles which primarily issue debt securities in individually-rated "tranches," from AAA-rated to BB-rated divided according to levels of seniority pertaining to principal and interest payments. Those debt securities are typically collateralized by a diversified pool of floating rate senior secured bank loans that are broadly syndicated.

"With a persistent low interest rate environment, many investors are turning to CLOs due to their floating rate nature and historically low default rates combined with today's yields," said Christopher D. Long, president of Palmer Square Capital Management. "Before the launch of these indices, the broad market of CLO investors, which spans from insurance companies to family offices, did not have access to a daily performance benchmark so we are pleased to provide them with the data which we believe will help them to make smarter investing decisions."

The Palmer Square CLO Debt Index is a rules-based observable pricing and total return index for collateralized loan obligation ("CLO") debt for sale in the United States, rated at the time of issuance as A, BBB or BB (or equivalent rating). Such debt is often referred to as the mezzanine tranches of a CLO.

The Palmer Square CLO Senior Debt Index is also a rules-based observable pricing and total return index for collateralized loan obligation ("CLO") debt for sale in the United States, rated at the time of issuance as AAA or AA (or an equivalent rating). Such debt is often referred to as the senior tranches of a CLO.

Palmer Square's investment team, with deep credit and alternatives experience across credit cycles, developed the proprietary methodology for calculating the indices. The NYSE serves as the calculation agent for the indices and will disseminate index values daily.

Palmer Square recently closed on its fourth CLO offering, a $435.8 million issuance with JPMorgan Securities acting as lead arranger on the transaction. Similar to three recent Palmer Square transactions, this CLO is designed to invest primarily in institutional senior secured bank loans.

Palmer Square Capital Management provides investment advisory services and manages portfolios of corporate and structured credit, high yield municipal credit and various hedge fund strategies for a diverse set of clients across institutional investors, registered investment advisory firms, broker-dealers and high net worth individuals.