Golden Tree Raises $1.3B for 3rd CLO Equity Fund

GoldenTree Asset Management raised $1.3 billion in commitments on its third collateralized loan obligation (CLO) strategy (GLM III).

GLM III is a continuation of the GoldenTree Loan Management program that began in 2016, bringing aggregate commitments across the entire GLM program to over $2.625 billion.

The investor base, which includes public and corporate pensions, foundations, insurance companies, family offices, and sovereign funds from the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, propelled the fund above its $1 billion target and reached its effective hard cap. GoldenTree’s own partners and employees made a $50 million contribution to the fund.

GoldenTree said it developed the GLM program to improve its top-quartile track record in CLO equity. The method is paying off, with the preceding GLM II strategy providing yearly payouts of 17% and a net IRR of 18% since February 29.

“GLM’s unique structure is designed to optimize returns in both volatile and benign environments,” said Lee Kruter, partner and head of performing credit at GoldenTree. “Unlike many of our peers, we strategically ramp and issue CLOs to maximize returns, not just achieve AUM targets.”

GLM III already issued its first CLO — GLM US CLO 19 — in January, securing AAA spreads as the market showed the tightest AAA spread since May 2022. The CLOP closed in March with $449 million.

New York-based GoldenTree was founded in 2000 and has grown to over $54 billion in assets under management and a team of over 300 employees across offices in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.