Latest Interviews
Showing 16–30 of 84 transcripts.
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Credit Outlook | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
Michael Milken, James Keenan, Victor Khosla, Marc Lipschultz, Purnima Puri
Leading institutional investors from BlackRock, Blue Owl Capital, Strategic Value Partners, and J.P. Morgan Partners outlined a rigorous selection framework that targets only 2% to 5% of reviewed deals to navigate a "higher for longer" interest rate environment. Panelists emphasized that private credit offers superior covenant protection and recovery rates compared to public markets, positioning it as a permanent portfolio diversifier rather than a temporary boom as bank deleveraging drives capital toward asset managers. Looking ahead, industry leaders anticipate a multi-year opportunity in distressed debt and non-sponsor financing, where operational involvement and strict governance will define success amid projected $600 billion in annual maturities.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Proposals for Protecting the Free-Enterprise System while Closing the Wealth Gap | Global Conference
Michael Milken, John Hope Bryant, Brad Gerstner, Teresa Ghilarducci, Steven T. Mnuchin
On May 8, 2024, the Milken Institute convened a panel featuring Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, investor Brad Jacobs, and advocate John Hope Bryant to propose structural reforms that reconcile free enterprise with closing the wealth gap. The group outlined specific legislative and private-sector solutions, including the "Invest America Birth Account" to seed universal child savings and the Retirement Savings for Americans Act to automatically enroll workers in retirement plans. These initiatives aim to mitigate retirement insecurity and promote financial literacy by 2026, leveraging contributions from high-net-worth donors and private equity firms while avoiding wealth taxes that could stifle innovation.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Reinvigorating the American Dream through Sport, Celebration, and Education | Global Conference 2024
Jim Gray, Janet Evans, Gianni Infantino, Rosie Rios, Lindsey Vonn, Michael Milken
The Milken Institute is launching the Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, D.C., during 2025 to coordinate with the America 250 Commission's bicentennial preparations and the 2026 World Cup. Key figures such as FIFA President Gianni Infantino, U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios, and Olympian Lindsey Vonn are driving a strategy that leverages the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 and 2034 Olympic Games to foster national unity, combat youth screen addiction, and mobilize billions of global viewers. This multi-decade initiative combines historic commemorations with a $160 million investment in youth sports to promote physical engagement and ensure broad community access to major sporting events.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Common Sense from Uncommon Investors | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
Michael Milken, Joshua Friedman, Dan Ivascyn, Steven Tananbaum, Anne Walsh, Tony Yoseloff
Panelists from PIMCO, Guggenheim, and GoldenTree analyze the current fixed income advantage over equities while warning of rising defaults in the oversaturated private credit market and systemic leverage risks in real estate and regional banks. The discussion highlights specific opportunities in liability management exercises, single-family mortgages, and pension risk transfers, even as regulatory changes accelerate banking consolidation. Strategic insights from leaders like Tony Blair and Dan Ivascenko further outline robust investment committee protocols designed to mitigate behavioral biases during volatile market cycles.
- Milken Institute58 min
Common Sense in Uncommon Times
Michael Milken, Afsaneh Beschloss, George G. Hicks, Jonathan Sokoloff, Neal Wilson
The Milken Institute Global Conference convened investors, policymakers, and corporate leaders to address the pandemic's economic disruption under the theme of "Common Sense for Uncommon Investors," emphasizing the integration of public health and social equity into financial strategy. Key figures including representatives from Leonard Green, Rock Creek, and Vardy Capital detailed adaptive measures such as liquidity tracking, shifts toward private distressed assets, and support for minority depository institutions to navigate volatile markets. The discussion concluded with projections of a K-shaped recovery, anticipated defaults in high-yield bonds, and a permanent acceleration in digital adoption and hybrid work models.
- Milken Institute1h 32m
A Conversation with President of the World Bank David Malpass
David Malpass, Michael Milken, Richard Engel, Sean Cairncross, Chris Coons, Niall Ferguson, Jane Harman
World Bank President David Malpass and US policymakers convened to address a surge in extreme poverty affecting 850 million people while debating debt relief strategies and the geopolitical rivalry between the US-led Development Finance Corporation and China's Belt and Road Initiative. The discussion highlighted the critical need to rebuild human capital through education and healthcare alongside a strategic shift from opaque infrastructure deals to transparent, market-based financing that prioritizes democratic values and shared prosperity. Experts concluded that restoring global partnerships and countering authoritarian influence requires a bipartisan commitment to clean infrastructure and international cooperation to ensure long-term economic stability for developing nations.
- Milken Institute59 min
Welcoming Remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
Yoshihide Suga, Michael Milken, Todd Gibbons, Thomas Gottstein, Jean Hynes, David M. Solomon
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga outlined Japan's post-pandemic economic strategy, emphasizing the establishment of a Digital Agency, corporate governance reforms, and safety preparations for the Tokyo Olympics. Complementing these national initiatives, a panel of global financial leaders from BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Wellington Management detailed their rapid digital transformations and aggressive ESG integration during the 2020 health crisis. Collectively, these entities highlighted how the pandemic accelerated the shift toward remote work, private markets, and sustainable investment models, creating a unified framework for future financial stability and growth.
- Milken Institute56 min
Opening Plenary | Part 2: Capital Markets in a Time of Global Disruption
Michael Milken, Scott Minerd, Steven Tananbaum, Lara Warner
Amidst a historic divergence where equity markets recover faster than debt, investors identify significant value in distressed legacy RMBS and double-B loans while avoiding complex CLO tranches. Governments have collaborated rapidly with the private sector to deploy liquidity through initiatives like the Swiss SME facility, creating a new operating model that contrasts sharply with the sluggish response of the 2008 crisis. Meanwhile, institutional investors navigate low yields and valuation gaps between public and private markets to capture returns in sectors like infrastructure and technology, with specific success observed in Boeing recapitalization strategies.
- Milken Institute56 min
Capital Markets in a Time of Global Disruption
Michael Milken, Scott Minerd, Steven Tananbaum, Lara Warner
The event analyzes the historical divergence where equity markets currently lead debt markets, creating valuation gaps that allow for distinct investment opportunities in legacy RMBS, distressed infrastructure bonds, and private-public arbitrage. Participants highlight the Federal Reserve's proactive intervention and government-private partnerships as critical factors accelerating recovery, contrasting this rapid response with the reactive measures seen in 2008. Strategic recommendations include advising over-levered firms on debt-for-equity swaps, restructuring high-yield portfolios with superior covenants, and leveraging tax-exempt municipal assets to meet actuarial pressures in a low-rate environment.
- Milken Institute1h 6m
Feeding the Nation During COVID 19: Food, Hope, and Recovery - Conference Call Series
Ryan Shadrick Wilson, José Andrés, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Michael Milken
Amid a projected surge in American food insecurity driven by the economic impacts of COVID-19, World Central Kitchen and industry leaders have mobilized a network of 500+ restaurants to distribute 250,000 daily meals while addressing the systemic waste of 72 billion pounds of edible food. Panelists including Jose Andrés and Claire advocate for a permanent "FEMA of Food" and immediate infrastructure investments to redirect fresh produce to vulnerable populations with pre-existing health conditions. The consensus among these stakeholders is that the crisis requires transitioning from short-term relief to structural reform that expands SNAP eligibility, utilizes technology for last-mile logistics, and treats food security as a critical national security issue.
- Milken Institute59 min
Retirement Security in the Wake of COVID-19 - Conference Call Series
Paul Irving, Marcie Frost, Michael Milken, Penny Pennington, Michelle Seitz
The Milken Institute convened financial leaders to analyze the dual threats of the pandemic and a projected $150 billion rise in the U.S. retirement savings deficit. Experts from Edward Jones, CalPERS, and Russell Investments highlighted the critical need to shift from generic index targets to personalized strategies that address longevity risk and the aging demographic's healthcare costs. Participants agreed that mitigating the crisis requires structural adjustments to retirement age, diversified Social Security portfolios, and the widespread adoption of automated savings mechanisms for gig workers.
- Milken Institute1h 5m
Leadership in the New Normal: Business Leaders Respond to COVID-19 - Conference Call Series
Kevin Klowden, Jane Fraser, Barbara Humpton, Michael Milken, Mike Milken
At the Milken Institute session "Leadership in the New Normal," moderated by Kevin Clowden, panelists Jane Frazier of Citigroup, Barbara Humpton of Siemens USA, and Mike Milken analyzed the immediate business responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Frazier detailed Citigroup's rapid shift to digital banking to support millions while maintaining access for vulnerable populations, whereas Humpton described Siemens' pivot to manufacturing critical medical supplies and establishing a "strategic digital twin reserve" for future crisis resilience. Milken provided a broader economic context, highlighting record-breaking vaccine development timelines and the necessity of public-private partnerships to address systemic inequalities and restore interdependent global supply chains.
- Milken Institute49 min
Dialogue with Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Haslinda Amin, Michael Milken, Curtis Chin, Anwar Ibrahim, Michael Swaito, Joe Brock
Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad lead a transition government in Malaysia that prioritizes dismantling race-based economic policies, combating systemic corruption, and replacing the New Economic Policy with a need-based framework. The administration plans to recover billions from the 1MDB scandal to fund education and social services while managing a predetermined handover of the premiership from Mohamad to Ibrahim in May 2020. This strategic governance aims to redefine the nation's "Asian Dream" by fostering multiracial democracy, addressing severe poverty statistics, and positioning Malaysia as a stable economic force amid regional geopolitical tensions.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Credit Is a Cycle: Global Market Outlook
Michael Milken, Ilfryn Carstairs, Josh Friedman, Sir Michael Hintze, David Miller, Jim Zelter
A panel of leading alternative asset managers including CQS, Canyon, and Apollo analyzed a late-cycle credit market characterized by covenant-light public securities, regulatory constraints on bank inventory, and significant dislocations in commercial real estate. Focusing on structural opportunities, these firms detailed strategies to pivot from passive trading to active origination, leveraging high-volume distressed assets in India, demographic-driven yield hunger from Japan, and short positions against deteriorating CMBS tranches. With substantial private equity dry powder and institutional demand for yield, the consensus indicates a strategic shift toward building proprietary platforms and utilizing long/short strategies to capture alpha as the sector expands toward $3 trillion in combined purchasing power over the next five years.
- Milken Institute1h 22m
Toward a Healthier Future
Will Durant, Mike Milken, Tanisha Carino, Michael Milken, Francis Collins, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, Bernard J. Tyson, Seema Verma, Sue Desmond-Hellman
Representatives from the Gates Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, CMS, and NIH converged to outline a unified strategy shifting global health systems from reactive treatment toward proactive prevention and precision medicine. Leaders highlighted specific breakthroughs in gene therapy, AI-driven neural decoding, and data interoperability while proposing structural reforms to align financial incentives with long-term population wellness and disease eradication. The consensus among these major institutions emphasizes that future economic prosperity and reduced healthcare costs depend on integrating community infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and innovative financing models to address challenges ranging from mental health crises to rare genetic disorders.