Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
We were live from AGM’s RIA Field Trip at
Brookfield’s New York office at Brookfield Place with
Oaktree Managing Director and Co-Portfolio Manager
Danielle Poli to unpack why private credit is at a crossroads and why dispersion is growing.
Danielle has a unique perch to form a developed view on the current state of private credit. She sits at the intersection of public and private credit, providing her with perspectives on where opportunities and risks lie across the liquidity spectrum.
Danielle is a founding member of Oaktree’s Global Credit strategy and its Investment Committee, which was established in 2017. She’s been an important contributor to its growth into a scaled multi-asset credit platform. She previously led Oaktree’s product specialist group, which she helped build into a global team supporting credit, private equity, and real estate. She joined Oaktree in 201 and has nearly two decades of experience in private markets. She has been named to Barron’s list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance.
Danielle and I had a fascinating conversation about the current state of private credit, where cracks might be emerging and where to find pockets of opportunity amid the dislocations. We covered:
- Why is boring beautiful in private credit?
- Where are we in the credit cycle?
- Why it’s important to have a contrarian mindset.
- Where, why, and how dispersion is rising in credit.
- How to underwrite software investments post-AI.
- Why asset-backed finance can be a diversifier.
- Why now could be the time to prepare for opportunistic and rescue lending opportunities, as maturities are fast approaching.
- How to balance public and private credit investing.
Thanks, Danielle, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private credit.
Show Notes00:00 Live Podcast Intro
00:34 Our Sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions
01:32 Where Private Credit Stands Today
02:22 Bifurcation and ABF Rise
02:59 Liquid vs Private Convergence
03:36 Danielle’s Career Background
04:13 Why Liquidity Matters
04:39 Dislocation Advantages
05:10 Risk Return Tradeoffs
05:18 Liquidity Premium Compression
05:41 Covenants and Complexity
06:01 Not All Private Credit is Equal
06:34 Corporate vs Asset-Backed
07:05 Why ABF Diversifies
07:30 How Allocators Fund ABF
07:49 Credit Taking Share from Equities
08:49 Tough Direct Lending Vintages
09:22 Rates Shock and Leverage
09:43 AI Disrupts Software Credit
10:41 Oaktree Software Underweight
12:01 Underwriting Software Post AI
12:57 Inside the Investment Committee
13:57 Selling Rallies and Positioning
A Word from Our Sponsor, UltimusThis episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by
Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.
That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.
We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.
What is Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets?
Alt Goes Mainstream podcast is the place to turn to for interviews with some of the brightest and most experienced minds in the world at the intersection private markets and wealth management. AGM dives into investment strategies like private equity (PE), private credit, venture capital (VC), secondaries, GP stakes, infrastructure, real estate, wealth management, and comprehensively covers tools and frameworks for approaching private markets, such as asset allocation, evergreen funds, model portfolios, and more. For anyone looking to invest into private markets (from experienced wealth managers to family offices to the individual investor looking for a more diversified investment portfolio), you’ll hear inside stories from executives and founders at some of the world’s largest financial institutions, alternative asset managers firms, and wealth management firms. More than a personal finance podcast, Alt Goes Mainstream dives deep into trends, investment strategies, firm building lessons, and innovative technologies that are enabling investors to access private markets.