The CLO Investor Podcast #32, John Kim, CEO and Co-Founder, Reckoner Capital
Mar 6, 2026
John Kim, CEO and co-founder of Reckoner Capital, a seasoned CLO investor and structurer. He talks about launching innovative CLO ETFs, including levered AAA and reinvesting structures. He contrasts leverage versus lower-rated debt and explains liquidity limits for private credit. He also covers market maturity, software loan concentration, and why Reckoner is cautious on new CLO equity.
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From Sell Side To $14bn Structured Credit At An Insurer
- John described building a large structured-credit book at an insurance buy-side, growing to roughly $14bn in assets and $3bn of equity.
- That team created bespoke structures and control deals rather than relying on banks for structuring.
One Turn Repo Leverage Raises AAA ETF Yield
- Reckoner launched CLO ETFs with one turn of repo leverage to boost AAA yields about 40–50 bps over unlevered peers.
- John Kim designed this low embedded leverage to remain safe for retail while topping SEC yield tables.
Use Reinvesting ETFs To Improve After Tax Returns
- Offer reinvesting ETFs that hold the core ETF to minimize monthly cash distributions and potentially convert ordinary income into long-term capital gains.
- Reckoner's reinvesting funds reference their own core fund to limit tax-minimization trades to roughly once a year, keeping costs low.