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Weekly Market Summary
June 29 to July 3, 2026
Extra Credit*
- Leveraged loan fund AUM (assets under management) rose by $1.3 billion in May, extending April’s recovery after eight straight months of declines. ETFs accounted for most of the increase, adding $1 billion, while mutual funds added about $300 million and closed-end funds slipped slightly. Although February and March saw a combined $9.5 billion drawdown, the move was modest compared with prior stress episodes such as April 2025, September 2022, and March 2020. The larger story remains a slow leak: AUM fell 10.6% in 2025 and is down another 7.3% through May 2026.
- Loan funds’ footprint in the leveraged loan market has shrunk meaningfully, with their share of the Morningstar LSTA US Leveraged Loan Index falling to 6.5% from a 23.8% peak in February 2014. Within the category, ETFs have taken share since 2011, now representing 21% of loan fund AUM. Mutual funds still dominate at 68%, but their share has declined from 87% in 2011, while closed-end funds account for 11%.
- Amend-and-extend activity accelerated in May, with volume reaching $25.4 billion, the highest monthly total since June 2024. The increase brought year-to-date volume to nearly $79 billion, ahead of last year’s pace, as borrowers continued to use amendments rather than full refinancings to manage upcoming maturities. Although refinancing yields have eased to 6.7% in 2026, they remain high by pre-2023 standards, keeping amend-and-extend deals an appealing tool for borrowers seeking maturity relief without taking on materially higher funding costs.
Source: Pitchbook as of 6/30/2026.
Previous reports
*Source: Morningstar®, Bloomberg, Credit Suisse. OAS is Options Adjusted Spread. 4-year discount margin is used for spread for bank loans. Yield quoted is yield-to-worst or equivalent calculation. YTD Low / High for yields are based on end of week and not intraday movements. Indexes and sub-indexes: Investment-grade corporates represented by Bloomberg US Corporate Bond Index. High-yield bonds represented by Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield Index. Bank loans represented by Morningstar LSTA US leveraged Loan Index. The red and green arrows depicted under Yields, Option Adjusted Spreads, and Prices indicate a higher or lower value from the previous week.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Index performance is not indicative of fund performance. Indexes are unmanaged and it is not possible to invest directly in an index.
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