Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. Today’s episode was filmed live at an event during a Brookfield Oaktree Wealth Solutions RIA Council meeting in New York. Armen Panossian , the Co-CEO and Head of Performing Credit at Oaktree , and I sat down for a conversation in a Brookfield-owned building with a group of RIAs in the audience. Armen, who joined Oaktree in 2007, has been an integral part of scaling Oaktree to over $209B in AUM. Oaktree, a storied firm, particularly in distressed credit, was recently fully acquired by Brookfield, the $1T AUM alternative asset manager. Armen has a wealth of experience across different areas of credit. He is the Head of Performing Credit, where his responsibilities include oversight of the firm’s liquid and private credit strategies and as a portfolio manager within the Global Private Debt and Global Credit strategies. He also led the development of Oaktree’s CLO business. Armen and I had a fascinating and thought-provoking conversation. We covered: The evolution of Oaktree’s business. How the acquisition by Brookfield has helped scale Oaktree’s business. Why private credit is more than direct lending. The nuances of asset-based finance. The current state of the credit markets. How Oaktree has approached distressed credit investing. What Armen’s memo would be if he were to write a memo like his colleague Howard Marks. And, why his memo might be titled “this is not your grandma’s private credit” or “don’t reach for risk to deliver the right return.” Thanks Armen and the Brookfield Oaktree Wealth Solutions team for a fantastic night and Armen for sharing your wisdom and expertise with us. Show Notes 00:00 Message from Ultimus, our Sponsor 01:59 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast 04:02 Armen Panossian’s Background 04:22 Early Career and Education 05:42 Transition to Finance 08:04 Joining Oaktree 08:25 Oaktree's Early Days 09:25 Investment Philosophy and Growth 12:05 Balancing Pessimism and Business Building 14:49 Private Credit Market Overview 15:45 Core vs. Alpha in Private Credit 20:06 Public vs. Private Credit 21:39 Technicals and Fundamentals in Credit Markets 24:17 Valuation and Risk Management 25:22 Consumer Impact on Private Credit 25:46 Public Markets as Indicators 26:38 Oaktree's Historical Success 26:48 Howard Marks' Investment Philosophy 26:58 Market Dynamics and Investment Strategies 27:18 Opportunities in Life Sciences 27:58 Public vs. Private Market Solutions 28:27 Understanding Private Credit Risks 29:05 Credit Market Technicals 29:41 Fraud Vigilance in Credit Markets 30:07 Oaktree's Opportunistic Credit Approach 31:56 Rescue Lending and Sector-Specific Opportunities 32:37 Asset-Backed Finance Explained 34:52 Impact of Banking Regulations 35:24 Current Trends in Asset-Backed Finance 39:47 Navigating the Private Credit Ecosystem 40:50 Brookfield and Oaktree Partnership 42:09 Wealth Channel Investment Strategies 43:40 Brookfield and Oaktree: A Unique Partnership 45:45 Concerns in Private Credit 48:03 Advisors' Guide to Private Credit 50:47 Howard's Memos and Investment Philosophy 52:44 Evolving Private Credit Landscape 53:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant . 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