🎥 Stonepeak Credit's Ryan Roberge - building an infrastructure credit strategy

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Today’s conversation unpacks an emerging category within infrastructure investing that has a compelling set of market forces and mega trend tailwinds.We sat down in Stonepeak’s New York office with Stonepeak Credit Partner and Senior Managing Director Ryan Roberge.Ryan brings a diverse set of experiences to bear that helped him build an infrastructure credit business at Stonepeak. He previously covered the energy and infrastructure sectors for King Street, a New York-based hedge fund focused on distressed, special situations, and event driven credit investing. Prior to King Street, Ryan worked in the Energy group at TPG Capital, a large global alternative asset manager. Ryan started his career in Credit Suisse’s Energy Investment Banking Group. He received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Louisiana State University.Ryan and I had a fascinating conversation on why infrastructure credit’s time is now. We covered:How Ryan’s background across energy investment banking, energy private equity, and distressed and special situations energy and infrastructure investing all help when investing in infrastructure credit.Why infrastructure credit is a specialized, capital-intensive strategy.How to underwrite data center risk.Contrarian AI insights.The biggest risks in infrastructure credit investing.How and why infrastructure credit is different from other areas of private credit and direct lending.How a specialist investment platform can help inform where to invest in infrastructure credit.Thanks Ryan for coming on the podcast to share your expertise, wisdom, and passion for infrastructure and credit.Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund SolutionsThis 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.Learn more: ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected] thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.Show Notes00:00 Hard Asset Diversification00:25 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream01:01 Message from our Sponsor, Ultimus02:06 Meet Ryan Roberge04:16 Ryan Career Origins04:52 From Banking to TPG05:30 Distressed Credit at King Street06:13 Equity Lessons for Credit07:13 Downside First Mindset07:59 What Is Infrastructure Credit08:19 Three Core Sectors08:37 Asset Level Underwriting09:14 Capital Intensive Returns10:07 Thinking Like an Owner10:38 Macro Tailwinds and Funding Gap11:21 Why Direct Lending Misses It12:59 Construction and Value Underwrite13:47 Capital Markets Spectrum16:03 Infra Credit vs Direct Lending18:31 Middle Market First Lien Focus19:53 Portfolio Fit and Diversification25:29 Data Centers Hard Asset Tech Risk26:40 Underwriting Data Center Terminal Value28:25 Are Investors Missing Risks29:00 Deal Structures and Loan to Cost30:31 Investing Across the Value Chain32:01 Mobile Power and Cycle Risk33:15 Long Duration View Ahead33:37 Loan Horizon Framework34:26 Asset First Underwriting34:44 Maintenance Capex Reality35:48 Stress Testing Downside36:02 Capital Flood into Infra36:35 Funding Gap Tailwind37:08 Theme Chasing Pitfalls37:57 Why Skip Renewables38:17 Bigger Deals Cheaper Money38:48 ABF Insurance Capital Rise39:15 Non-IG Hard Asset Risk40:13 Why Not Investment Grade40:27 Key Underwriting Risks40:37 True Loan to Value41:07 Fiber To Home Case Study42:17 Growth Platform Underwrite43:10 Skills For Infra Credit43:28 Team Backgrounds44:39 Downside Ownership Mindset45:26 Contrarian AI Insight46:25 Circular Demand Warning49:07 Data Center Risk Playbook51:52 Investor Demand And Wrap UpEditing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.Join over 15,600 Substack subscribers & followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com