A primer brought to you by S & P Global that dissects all aspects of syndicated loans.

Syndicated Loans: The Market and the Mechanics, a primer created for the Loan Market participant.

The U.S. senior secured institutional term loan asset class provides a number of benefits to investors, including a floating-rate coupon, a large and liquid market, lower credit and interest-rate risk than high-yield bonds, and many ways to gain exposure.

Investors in loans like their short duration, high position in the capital structure and their floating-rate attribute that has resulted in better returns than other fixed income instruments. LSTA Executive Director Bram Smith met with four leading loan market participants to discuss the current state of the market, the issues it faces, and how senior loans can enhance institutional portfolios.

November was a solid month in the secondary loan market, with S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index (LLI) returning 0.59%. October, however, was a different story. Secondary loan trading volume spiked 19% in October to a six-month high of $64 billion. This followed a two-month stretch where volumes fell below $60 billion per month, according to the Secondary Trading & Settlement Monthly October Executive Summary.

For the second time in three months, loan returns were negative in the loan market.  After returning 0.47% in September, the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index (LLI) produced a 0.43% loss in October –the worst monthly print this year, according to the Secondary Market Monthly October Executive Summary.

Over the past three decades, the senior loan market has grown  from relatively modest beginnings into an essential element of corporate finance, playing a core-plus role in institutional fixed-income allocations.  In 2018, the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index, an indicator of market size, surpassed $1 trillion in outstandings.

This presentation is for the Third Quarter 2019 LSTA Secondary Trading & Settlement Study.  Presented by Ted Basta, LSTA EVP –Analysis & Investor Strategy.