Mina Pacheco Nazemi, Head of Diversified Alternative Equity, joins the podcast to explain how she and her team are finding attractive opportunities to “build to core” in assets like battery storage and data centers. Episode Segments: (01:58) – Mina’s role at Barings (02:43) – The common attractions of infra equity asset types (06:12) – Why “infrastructure 2.0” offers the potential for higher returns (11:24) – The opportunity from the concentrated capital raising in infrastructure (18:28) –...

Barings' David Mihalick and Martin Horne discuss the blurring lines between public and private credit markets and the implications for asset managers, borrowers and investors. Episode Segments: (03:17) – What’s driving the blurring of lines between public & private credit? (09:47) – The ebb and flow between the public and private loan markets (14:22) – What happens when we hit an economic cycle? (19:17) – The benefits of investing across public & private markets (23:42) – Why Barings...

Michael Searles, Head of North America – Capital Solutions, explains why capital solutions strategies are garnering increased interest from institutional investors looking to diversify their private credit allocations and gain access to potentially uncorrelated returns. Episode Segments: (05:42) – How Barings defines Capital Solutions strategies (08:50) – Targeting a premium over direct lending through customization (12:14) – The evolution from Special Situations to Capital Solutions (20:32)...

Kelly Burton sheds light on the technical and fundamental picture for high yield bonds today as investors grapple with an increasingly noisy macroeconomic and political backdrop. Episode Segments: 02:30 – Kelly’s background and role at Barings 05:18 – What market technicals are telling us about high yield 09:26 – Assessing issuer fundamentals against a noisy macro backdrop 15:32 – Liability management exercises and where defaults could go in a recession scenario 20:14 – How high yield may...

The U.S is experiencing a housing crisis driven by a lack of new supply and challenged affordability. But for investors providing the capital to modernize the country’s stock of housing, attractive returns may lie ahead. Maureen Joyce explains. Episode Segments: (04:41) – The key factors driving the U.S. housing crisis (09:02) – The demographic groups most impacted (12:50) – Where re-pricing and long-term structural trends converge (15:02) – Build-to-rent as both a housing solution and...

Dr. Ricardo Adrogué joins the podcast to discuss why risks including those related to inflation, interest rates and EM elections are increasingly behind us, setting the stage for a possible resurgence in investor appetite for EM Debt. Episode Segments:  (02:45) – Is EM election risk behind us? (10:10) – How the outcome of the U.S. election may impact EMs (20:46) – Investing in a world rife with geopolitical risk (24:19) – Why the interest rate & inflation outlook may favor EMs (30:11)...

Barings Chairman & CEO, Mike Freno, joins the podcast to discuss recent developments in the firm’s Global Private Finance platform, the strong momentum in its public and private assets businesses, and where he and the Barings team see opportunities for growth ahead. Episode Segments: (01:51) – Recapping two strong years of growth for Barings (04:17) – Mike’s perspective on recent developments in Barings’ Global Private Finance platform (13:49) – The opportunity and growth ahead in...

Against a backdrop of stickier-than-expected inflation, higher-for-longer rates, and persistent geopolitical risks, what is the outlook for high yield bonds and senior secured loans? Global High Yield Portfolio Manager, Brian Pacheco, weighs in. Episode Segments: (03:29) – How the macro backdrop has changed for high yield this year (06:28) – Why the Barings team is bullish today on loans (08:37) – Contrasting the steady return profile of loans with higher duration assets (10:14) – Where...

While European real estate markets have faced headwinds in recent years, there are signs that we may be at or nearing the trough of the cycle. Portfolio manager, Rory Allan provides insight into where the Barings team is finding attractive opportunities to deploy capital today. Episode Segments: (02:11) – Assessing the macro background for European real estate (04:41) – Signals to watch for that may indicate the trough of the cycle (09:18) – Why transaction levels -60% don’t tell the full...

Head of Public Assets, Martin Horne, discusses the factors shaping the outlook for fixed income markets in 2024 including interest rates, corporate fundamentals and valuations. Episode Segments: 02:20 - How the macro backdrop is shaping the outlook for fixed income 04:12 - Are markets too aggressive in pricing in rate cuts? 05:45 - Corporate fundamentals and the potential for higher defaults 09:15 - What history may tell us about fixed income's future path 13:04 - The challenge of timing...

Business development companies (BDCs) continue to garner increased investor attention driven by demand for income and access to the growing private credit asset class. Barings' Matthew Freund discusses the cyclical and structural trends shaping the market opportunity today. Episode Segments: (02:29) – Defining our terms: BDCs (04:08) – The structural trends underpinning private credit’s growth (06:10) – Understanding the types of BDCs: public, private & perpetual (08:20) – How fees play...

While commercial real estate markets continue to face cyclical and structural headwinds, real estate debt may prove to be a bright spot for investors in 2024 – benefiting from attractive valuations and increased institutional take-up of the asset class. Nasir Alamgir explains. Episode Segments: 02:00 – How the RE debt landscape has changed over the last year 03:36 – How the interest rate environment is impacting RE debt 05:59 – The consequences of bank retrenchment 08:10 – Could this be a...

Dennis Ho, CEO of Martello Re, sits down with Barings’ Colin Gordon to discuss the creation and rapid growth of Bermuda-based reinsurer Martello Re, and how trusted partnerships have been the key to tackling challenges ranging from investment returns to hiring and beyond. Episode Segments: (02:20) – From trading hockey cards to managing a multi-billion dollar reinsurer (03:41) – Why the world needed another reinsurance company (05:49) – The influence of private equity in the reinsurance...

Can the impressive growth of the direct lending asset class continue? Or will higher rates and increased competition mean more defaults and lower spreads are on the horizon? Our experts across the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pac weigh in on the prospects for the asset class in 2024. Moderator: Natasha Sahi, Client Portfolio Manager - Global Private Finance Panelists: Tyler Gately, Head of Client Portfolio Management - Global Private Finance Justin Hooley, MD, APAC Region - Global Private...

Daron Tubian, Head of Affordable Housing Investments at Barings, sits down with Rich Roberts of Red Stone Equity Partners to discuss the housing affordability crisis in the U.S., and how investors can play a role in the solution while also earning potentially attractive returns. Episode Segments: (01:55) - Looking back on 30 years in affordable housing (04:46) - Understanding the scope of the affordable housing crisis in the U.S. (08:15) - The growing attraction of affordable housing for...

How will higher rates impact real estate markets in 2024? Will valuations finally become more clear? And is real estate debt poised to shine in the year ahead? Our panel of experts from the U.S., Europe, & Australia answer these questions and more in this special outlook episode. Moderator: Maureen Joyce - Head of U.S. Real Estate Asset Management and Equity Portfolio Management, Barings Panelists: John Ockerbloom - Head of U.S. Real Estate, Barings Nick Pink - Head of Europe Real...

From high yield and investment grade credit to emerging markets and securitized debt, what will 2024 hold for fixed income investors? Our panel of experts weighs in on the opportunities and risks ahead. Moderator: Matt Livas, Head of Client Portfolio Management for Public Fixed Income Panelists: Ricardo Adrogue, Head of Global Sovereign Debt & Currencies Yulia Alekseeva, Portfolio Manager & Head of Securitized Research Brian Pacheco, Portfolio Manager, Global High Yield Episode...

Is all the doom and gloom around commercial real estate warranted? Or are there still opportunities for savvy investors? Joe Gorin discusses this and why tomorrow's real estate equity portfolios may ultimately look significantly different than those of today. Episode Segments: (01:32) – Not sugarcoating the outlook for real estate equity (03:43) – The past, present and future of RE equity portfolio construction (07:19) – Considering if office is still “core” and where (if anywhere)...

The direct lending asset class, and private credit more broadly, have recently attracted much investor interest and a fair share of media hype. What's real and what's noise? Ian Fowler draws on his 30+ years of industry experience to help listeners get a true lay of the land. Episode Segments: (01:42) - Thoughts on the "trendiness" of direct lending (06:05) - Assessing the performance of the asset class in 2023 (10:40) - The nuances of deal origination when LBO activity is light (14:28) -...

With yields on bonds and loans near historical highs and the credit quality of the high yield market materially higher than in past cycles, investors may not need to take excessive risks to earn attractive returns in below-investment-grade markets today. Barings' Co-Head of Global High Yield, Scott Roth explains. Episode Segments: (02:00) – What’s gone right for high yield bonds and broadly syndicated loans in 2023 (04:56) – How high yield could fare if the Fed keeps hiking (07:58) – The...

Orhan Sarayli, Head of North America on Barings' Global Infrastructure Debt team joins the podcast to discuss the evolving opportunity set in infrastructure debt, including who is buying the asset class today, and what trends may underpin its growth in the years to come. Episode Segments: (01:05) – Defining the infrastructure debt universe today (03:20) – How infra debt transactions are sourced (05:11) – The surprisingly fast pace of infra deal origination (09:33) – Who’s buying infra debt...

From Wall Street economists to local taxi drivers, everyone is talking about the challenges facing U.S. office real estate. How big is the problem? What are the potential solutions? And will there be investment opportunities along the way? Barings' Dags Chen weighs in. Episode Segments: (01:55) - How big the "office problem" actually is (04:50) - Assessing office equity valuations (06:25) - How long it may take for office valuations to bottom out (11:26) - How realistic office conversions...

Co-Head of Structured Credit Investments, Melissa Ricco provides insight into the current dynamics driving the collateralized loan obligation market and why she and the team are seeing compelling opportunities, particularly at the top of the capital stack. Episode Segments: (01:28) - The impact of higher rates and an uncertain macro backdrop on CLOs (03:50) - The fundamental outlook and why CLOs may have less risk than loans (05:29) - The default outlook (07:43) - How credit rating...