Octaura, an electronic trading, data and analytics platform for syndicated loans and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), announced the launch of Live Feedback, a real-time auction workflow for CLO Bids Wanted in Competition lists (BWICs). Building on Octaura’s CLO trading protocol launch in 2025, the feature introduces real-time visibility, structured bid tracking and enhanced fairness to a process that has historically lacked transparency.

“For years, CLO BWIC participants have had to ‘bid in the dark,’ with limited information on the state of the CLO trading market or if their bid was truly competitive, often resulting in inefficient outcomes and small wins despite significant time and effort spent,” said Brian Bejile, CEO of Octaura. “Live Feedback ‘turns on the light’ for market participants, so they can make impactful use of their time by focusing efforts on the most strategic trades.”

Live Feedback enables bidders to see their position in the stack as auctions unfold, so they can decide whether to improve, hold or redeploy capital elsewhere. The feature replaces fragmented deal opportunities with a centralized, platform-driven experience to enable faster decision-making and more competitive bidding, delivering value across the CLO trading ecosystem.

Buyside list senders gain immediate insight as prices come in and do not have to manually provide color to auction participants. Meanwhile, buy and sellside list responders can view all lists in one place, submit bids electronically and see instant feedback on competitiveness. Additionally for the sellside, dealers no longer need to manually collect and relay bids – they gain clearer visibility into client positioning within the stack, reducing friction and improving execution.

Central to this workflow is the introduction of “jump ball” logic. This means that if the top bid is improved in the final minute of an auction, the system automatically extends the clock, alerting all topped participants for a final opportunity to improve bids and preventing last-second bid sniping. This process is fully automated and applied equally to all participants, leveling the playing field by giving every serious bidder a fair chance to compete.

Additional key capabilities of Live Feedback include:

• Real-time bid stack visibility, showing competitive positioning as prices change
• Unlimited bid improvements, while blocking dis-improvements to preserve auction integrity
• Tracked cancels, replacing unstructured withdrawals with a clear audit trail
• Full consolidation of lists and bids, reducing reliance on phone calls and manual updates

Live Feedback reinforces Octaura’s mission to modernize structured finance through transparency, efficiency and integrated intelligence – integrating real-time market color directly into the trading workflow to fuel smart, confident trades.

“Clients and sellers have increasingly asked for more visibility into the broader market,” added Bejile. “Live Feedback is a direct response to that and an important step toward making the CLO market more efficient and accessible.”

Source: Octaura