Speaking of Alternatives
Speaking of Alternatives is an original podcast from PGIM, providing a global perspective on the rich and diverse landscape of alternative investments. Each month, leaders cut through the complexities and get to the heart of alternative investing. They look beyond the headlines and scrutinize the latest trends and strategies driving this important asset class.
Season 1
Episode 12
...Let’s Talk Reinsurance
Keshav discusses with Nandini Mongia, the Group Executive Chair and CEO of Prismic Life, and Mike Thompson, Managing Director of Warburg Pincus and Head of Capital Solutions for Europe the fundamental role of reinsurance in managing risk, offering financial protection, and enabling growth within the insurance industry. Moving forward, global trends indicate a growing interest and allocation towards alternative investments and private investments.
Episode 11
… Let’s Talk Portfolio Construction: The Role of Alternatives
Keshav Rajagopalan sits down with Alfred Lerman, Chief Investment Officer at PGIM Multi-Asset Solutions and Mao Dong, Co-Head of Portfolio Management at PGIM Multi-Asset Solutions. Together they discuss the strategic integration of alternative investments in portfolio construction. Their analysis highlights the unique potential for portfolio customisation through the synergistic blend of private and public asset classes, coupled with robust risk mitigation strategies via meticulous underwriting and stringent covenants.
Episode 10
… Let’s Talk US Core Plus
Keshav Rajagopalan and Darin Bright, the Head of Core Plus Strategies at PGIM Real Estate examine the tangible aspects of real estate, including its durability, which make it an appealing and accessible component of a diversified portfolio. They discuss the opportunities new technologies and U.S. demographics bring to a diverse Core Plus Real Estate strategy.
Episode 9
… Let’s talk Infrastructure
Keshav Rajagopalan sits down with Bill Pappas, Managing Director and Head of Core Infrastructure at PGIM Private Capital. They explore the nuanced infrastructure investment landscape through the lens of private capital and alternative investments.
Episode 8
… Let’s Talk 2024 Alts Report
Keshav Rajagopalan speaks with Matt Harvey, Head of Direct Lending at PGIM Private Capital, Sebastiano Ferrante, Head of Europe at PGIM Real Estate, and Stephan Wessel, Managing Partner at Montana Capital Partners. Together they explore allocations and tensions in a risk-on environment, challenges in fundraising and valuations and expected institutional investment headwinds and tailwinds of 2025.
Episode 7
… Let's Talk Emerging Market Debt
Keshav Rajagopalan speaks with Mariusz Banasiak, Managing Director and Head of Local Currency Rates and FX at PGIM Fixed Income. Together they explore the opportunities and challenges of emerging market debt, positive structural trends in emerging markets and managing risks in geopolitics and the consequences of the 2024 presidential election.
Episode 6
… Let’s Talk Global Data Center Investments with Jim Footh
Data centers are one of the fastest-growing areas within real estate investing, driven by the increasing digitization of our lives and the evolution of AI. In this episode, Jim and our new host Keshav Rajagopalan explore the headwinds and tailwinds in the data center landscape, and where opportunity can be uncovered.
Episode 5
… Let’s Talk Affordable Housing
Eric speaks with Soultana Reigle, Head of U.S. Equity and Senior Portfolio Manager for U.S. Value-Add Strategies, PGIM Real Estate. This conversation traverses one of the great societal challenges in the U.S. and globally, the affordable housing market and its complex economic challenges.
Episode 4
… Let’s Talk Agriculture with Jamie Shen
Eric speaks with Jamie Shen, Managing Director and Head of Agriculture at PGIM Real Estate. They explore the transforming landscape of agricultural debt and equity, examine the mitigation of climate risk for investors and explore the balance of labour and mechanisation in agriculture.
Episode 3
… Let’s Talk Direct Lending with Matthew Harvey
Eric chats with Matthew Harvey, Head of the Direct Lending business for PGIM Private Capital. This conversation highlights the importance of experienced asset managers in navigating the direct lending landscape and sheds light on the steady increase of capital flowing into this evolving credit market.
Episode 2
… Let’s Talk Private Equity Secondaries with Dr. Marco Wulff
Eric chats with Dr. Marco Wulff, CEO, Managing Partner, and co-founder of Montana Capital Partners AG. They discuss the advantages and challenges of the private equity secondary market, global prospects, and the recent explosive growth of this private investment strategy.
Episode 1
… Let’s Talk Value-Add Equity Real Estate Investing with Sebastiano Ferrante
Eric sits down with Sebastiano Ferrante, Head of Europe at PGIM Real Estate. They discuss Europe’s alternative investment landscape, prevailing market dynamics currently influencing institutional investing, and the risk-reward trade-off in value-add equity real estate investing.