InsuranceAUM

In this episode of the InsuranceAUM.com Podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, sits down with Gavin Baiera, Senior Managing Director and Head of Performing Credit at Centerbridge, and David Marks, Executive Vice President at Wells Fargo Commercial Banking, to explore the evolution of direct lending and why relationship-based lending may offer a differentiated source of relative value.
 
Gavin and David discuss how lending to founder and family owned businesses differs from traditional sponsor backed transactions, with a focus on leverage, covenant structures, borrower behavior, and long standing banking relationships. They also explore how pairing commercial banking relationships with private credit underwriting can open access to a broader range of non sponsored opportunities, support greater diversification, and help investors evaluate risks related to liquidity, AI exposure, and shifting credit conditions.

In this episode of the InsuranceAUM.com Podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA sits down with Tom Milewski, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Management at Deerpath Capital, to discuss why active portfolio management can be just as important as underwriting in private credit. Tom explains how managers can use monthly financials, borrower-specific KPIs, dashboards, and early warning triggers to identify developing risks, learn from portfolio trends, and make more informed investment decisions.
 
They also explore where outcomes begin to diverge between private credit managers, the difference between covenant-light, covenant-loose, and meaningful covenant structures, and why reacting early to signs of stress can help preserve value. Tom also shares what insurance investors should consider when evaluating a private credit manager’s approach to portfolio oversight, including how managers apply lessons learned and adjust their strategies over the life of an investment.

In this episode of the Insuranceaum.com podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, sits down with Bixby Stewart, Head of US Investment Grade Credit Research for Invesco Fixed Income, to explore where credit investors are finding conviction amid tight spreads, strong institutional demand, and a historic wave of AI-related capital investment.
 
Bixby explains why today’s investment-grade market may deserve its historically tight valuations, highlighting stronger credit quality, attractive yields, improved liquidity, and persistent demand from insurers, pensions, and other institutional investors. He also discusses relative value across banks, technology, utilities, energy, and private credit, while examining the risks surrounding hyperscaler issuance, AI monetization, market concentration, and the need for disciplined security selection in a bond picker’s market.

In this episode of the Insuranceaum.com podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, is joined by Sidd Chakravarty, Vice President of Investments at CoAction Global, to explore the private market priorities insurance investors should be watching as they prepare for 2027. Sidd discusses the growing role of asset-based finance, opportunities across non-agency mortgages and digital infrastructure, and the many ways insurers can gain exposure to the financing needs created by artificial intelligence.
 
The conversation also examines portfolio construction in a “normal for longer” interest-rate environment, spread compression, emerging risks within private credit and the importance of understanding exactly what sits beneath each investment. Sidd shares his perspective on manager selection, insurance-specific expertise, regulatory developments and the value of peer networks as allocators navigate an increasingly complex investment landscape.

In this episode of the insuranceaum.com podcast, host Stewart Foley, CFA, speaks with Ross Sylvester of Napier Park Global Capital and Katie Cowan of First Eagle Investments about insurance investing in railcar leasing. They explain how the asset class works, why industrial companies lease railcars and how contractual cash flows, specialized maintenance and long-lived physical assets can create a resilient investment profile.
 
The discussion explores how railcar leasing may support stable income, inflation sensitivity, duration alignment and diversification within insurance portfolios. Ross and Katie also share their perspectives on North American supply chains, geopolitical exposure, asset-based finance and how insurers can evaluate railcar leasing alongside traditional credit and real asset allocations.