Julie Miecamp sets the stage at (00:00:04), framing how CLO ETFs jumped from niche to mainstream and why that shift matters now. She brings in Octus reporter Diana Bravo at (00:01:04) to lay out the stakes and context for the interview. John Kerschner joins Diana at (00:03:12) and walks through the ETF origin story, why CLOs fit the wrapper, how active design and investor education drove scale, and what the adoption curve really looked like for retail vs institutions.

Midway, they use the April “Liberation Day” wobble as a live case study, starting at (00:12:22), to explain spread moves, why price and NAV briefly diverged, and how the structure behaved under stress. The conversation then moves into ETF plumbing at (00:26:08) and in-kind vs cash creates/redeems at (00:28:23), clarifying why AUM down doesn’t automatically mean forced selling.

The global lens opens at (00:15:24) with Europe and UCITS access, including offshore tax considerations and early AUM. Competition and market share dynamics kick in around (00:13:10), highlighting how education and liquidity helped sustain first-mover advantage. Kerschner’s macro and risk outlook starts at (00:33:27), followed by a growth view on potential AUM scaling in the next 12–18 months. The rapid-fire close begins at (00:39:46). Julie returns to wrap the episode at (00:42:16) with takeaways and the subscribe nudge.

----more----

Credits