Octagon

What Octagon does

Octagon Credit Investors, LLC is a New York-based, below-investment-grade corporate credit investment adviser managing $31.6 billion in assets across institutional and advised channels as of April 2026. Founded in 1994 as a business unit of Chemical Bank and spun out from Chase Manhattan Bank in 1999, the firm has been a CLO manager since the asset class's inception and is widely regarded as one of the original US CLO managers. It is a majority-owned subsidiary of Conning Holdings Limited, which since April 2024 has been controlled by Generali Investments Holding S.p.A., making Octagon part of a global asset management platform operating in more than 20 countries.

Name

Octagon

Legal name

Octagon Credit Investors, LLC

Website

https://octagoncredit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Octagon Credit Investors is a $31.6B below-investment-grade corporate credit investment adviser specializing in CLOs, leveraged loans, and high yield bonds for institutional clients and advised retail vehicles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Credit Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Asset-Backed Securities (6189), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Leveraged Loans & CLOs (FSAAAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLO) (FSACACAC), Leveraged Finance & Loan Credit (Loans/Lev Loans/Loan CLOs) (FSAHAGAI), Private Credit — Structured Credit (CLOs, ABS, Private Securitizations) (FSAHAJAH)

Keywords

• Below investment grade credit
• CLO management services
• Collateralized loan obligations
• Institutional asset management
• Private credit investing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees (AUM-based): Octagon earns investment management fees based on assets under management across its various investment platforms including separately managed accounts, CLOs, and credit-focused funds. The fees are calculated as a percentage of AUM and vary by investment vehicle and client size.
2. Sub-Advisory Fees: Octagon serves as sub-adviser to XAI Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (XFLT) and XAI CLO Income Fund (OCTIX), earning sub-advisory fees from XA Investments LLC for portfolio management services.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Octagon Credit Investors is a specialist investment adviser managing approximately $31.6B in below-investment grade US corporate credit. The firm provides institutional clients access to CLO debt and equity, broadly syndicated loans, high yield bonds, and private credit through separately managed accounts, registered closed-end and interval funds (XFLT and OCTIX), and directly managed CLOs. It employs fundamental credit analysis, relative value asset selection, and active portfolio management across multiple credit strategies.

Product overview

Octagon Credit Investors offers a comprehensive suite of investment products and strategies focused on below-investment grade corporate credit. The firm provides access through multiple vehicles: (1) Listed Closed-End Funds — XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (XFLT) on NYSE and XAI CLO Income Fund (OCTIX) interval fund; (2) Separately Managed Accounts — customized solutions for institutional clients; and (3) Various credit strategies including Liquid Credit (broadly syndicated loans, high yield bonds), Structured Credit (CLO debt and equity), Multi-Asset Class Credit, and Private Credit (direct lending to upper middle-market borrowers). Octagon also manages its own CLOs and provides sub-advisory services through its affiliation with Conning and Generali Investments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (XFLT) NYSE-listed registered closed-end fund designed for investors seeking attractive total return with emphasis on income generation through investments in CLO debt and CLO equity securities, senior secured loans, and opportunistic credit; Octagon serves as sub-adviser via XA Investments.
• XAI CLO Income Fund (OCTIX) Evergreen interval fund designed to provide high income and total return primarily through investments in CLO debt and CLO equity securities; distributed through financial advisors and made available on the Charles Schwab platform.
• Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs) Management Direct management of CLO vehicles; Octagon has been a CLO manager since 1999 and is among the first investment managers in the asset class, with expertise in structuring, evaluating, managing, and investing in CLOs across multiple credit cycles.
• Separately Managed Accounts Customized investment solutions for US and global institutional clients where each account is tailored to client specifications regarding liquidity, hedging and leverage preferences, risk and return objectives, and regulatory and reporting requirements.
• Liquid Credit Strategy Investment strategy primarily focused on broadly syndicated loans (senior secured loans, bank loans, leveraged loans) and high yield bonds.
• Structured Credit Strategy Investments in debt and/or equity securities of CLOs managed by third-party collateral managers, including rated CLO debt tranches across the ratings spectrum and CLO equity tranches.
• Multi-Asset Class Credit Strategy Multi-asset class credit approach that may invest across broadly syndicated loans, CLO debt, CLO equity, high yield bonds, and/or stressed/distressed assets in accordance with fund investment guidelines.
• Private Credit Strategy Sponsor-backed middle to upper-middle-market direct lending strategy; expanded in September 2025 with senior hires Sean Sullivan as Head of Private Credit and Michael Ahrens as Principal.

Quantifiable outcome

• XFLT grew from $82M at launch in 2017 to over $500M in total managed assets by September 2023, representing 330% growth.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Charles SchwabminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 7 January 2026XA Investments announced that Octagon XAI CLO Income Fund (OCTIX) is now available for purchase on Charles Schwab platform, expanding access to financial advisors and their clients who custody through Schwab.
• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)minorOthers · 4 February 2020Octagon became a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in February 2020. As a signatory, Octagon is committed to upholding the PRI's six Principles including reporting on activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.
• XA Investments LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 September 2017Octagon serves as sub-adviser to XAI Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust (XFLT) and XAI CLO Income Fund (OCTIX). XA Investments, founded by XMS Capital Partners in 2016, serves as the investment adviser to these registered closed-end funds. Octagon is responsible for management of the portfolio as sub-adviser.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sound Point Capital Management: Sound Point is a CLO-focused credit manager with strategies spanning CLO debt and equity, leveraged loans, and private credit BDCs, making it a direct peer to Octagon's structured credit and multi-asset credit offerings.
• Carlyle Global Credit: Carlyle's Global Credit platform manages CLOs, leveraged loans, and high yield bonds, directly overlapping with Octagon's Liquid Credit, Structured Credit, and Multi-Asset Class strategies, and serving a similar institutional insurance and pension client base.
• CIFC Asset Management: CIFC is a specialist CLO asset manager focused on below-investment-grade structured credit; it is one of the closest pure-play comparables to Octagon's CLO management franchise given overlapping product mix (CLO debt and equity, leveraged loans) and similar institutional client base.
• Pretium Partners: Pretium's Credit business originates and invests across structured credit and CLOs with a similarly institutional focus, providing a comparable mix of CLO management and structured credit investment exposure to Octagon.

Broad incumbents

• Sixth Street Partners: Sixth Street is a global credit and structured credit investment firm whose strategies in CLOs, leveraged loans, and direct lending overlap with Octagon's platforms, though it operates with broader alternative asset management capabilities.
• Ares Management (Ares Credit): Ares operates one of the largest CLO and direct lending platforms globally, with substantial overlap to Octagon in leveraged loans, CLO management, and private credit, though at materially larger scale and with a broader alternative asset management portfolio.
• Apollo Global Management (Credit): Apollo runs one of the largest structured credit and CLO franchises (including the Athene/insurance balance sheet integration), competing with Octagon for institutional CLO mandates and across leveraged credit strategies, but as part of a much broader alternatives platform.
• Bain Capital Credit: Bain Capital Credit invests across CLOs, leveraged loans, private credit, and special situations with an institutional client base that overlaps with Octagon's, positioned as a larger-scale alternative asset manager in the same credit segments.
• KKR Credit: KKR's Credit group manages CLOs, leveraged credit, and private credit strategies comparable to Octagon's product set, operating as part of a much larger alternative asset manager serving overlapping institutional clients.
• Oaktree Capital Management (Credit): Oaktree's Credit platform manages CLOs and leveraged credit strategies with significant overlap with Octagon's structured credit focus, operating at meaningfully larger scale as part of a globally diversified alternative manager.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles71 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Octagon