Senior Secured Loans (SSL) 2.0: still ‘once in a generation?’ Ft. Invesco’s Ash O’Connor

After one of the most popular Australian Investors Podcast episodes of 2022, Ashley O’Connor is back.

Ashley is an experienced equity and bond markets investor at Invesco.

Ashley joins Owen Rask on The Australian Investors Podcast to talk about Senior Secured Loans (SSL) and what’s changed in the past year, since Ash referred to SSLs as a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity.

Talking points with Invesco’s Ashley O’Connor

What’s the one investment you got totally wrong?

What’s one investing belief or idea (e.g. ‘buy low, sell high’) that investors place way too much weight on?

In 2022 we spoke and you introduced the Rask audience to the idea of senior secured loans (SSLs). What has happened since?

For listeners who are not familiar with SSLs, can you break it down for us?

How have SSLs compared next to US treasuries in that time?

How do loans compare to, say, corporate bonds?

What credit metrics are assessed by the Invesco team? What would a typical analyst working on the SSL desk be looking at day-in, day-out?

Given the team uses both bottom-up and top-down, how are macro risks deflected? Are there industries you avoid? Market segments that are uninvestable?

Last year you called it a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity. Where does the current opportunity sit?

I’d like to shift gears towards 3 names in the portfolio listeners might be familiar with. Can you walk us through businesses, what they do, how they make money, and metrics you have on their size?

What’s been your best investment of all time?

About Ashley O’Connor

As Head of Investment Strategy, Ashley O’Connor is responsible for identifying, communicating and supporting Invesco’s strategies of focus in the Australian marketplace, including consultant and research house relations. Ashley is also responsible for Invesco’s Asia Pacific Go-To-Market (GTM) Product Strategy for global multi-market solutions.

Throughout his career he has researched managers and strategies across all asset classes. Before joining Invesco in 2014, Ashley was at Frontier Advisors, one of Australia’s largest asset consultants, for 10 years, as a Senior Consultant and Head of Debt. At Frontier, Ashley was also a voting member of the Investment Committee that determined asset allocation and manager selection.