The Bridge Ep. 23: Can AI Deliver Returns, Not Just Hype?
Torsten Slok argues that AI is no longer just a technology story but a macro story, with spending already supporting GDP and reshaping credit, rates, and capital allocation. His core warning is that higher-for-longer rates and faster open-source competition are making the economics of AI returns much harder to underwrite.
The Bridge Ep. 22: Who Really Benefits From AI?
Holden Spaht argues that AI is shifting enterprise software from experimentation to measurable outcomes, and that the biggest winners will be companies with proprietary data, deep workflow integration, and strong domain expertise. He says the “SaaS apocalypse” narrative is overstated because enterprise software is becoming an intelligence and action layer, not being replaced by generic models.
The Bridge Ep. 21: What the Headlines Miss About Private Credit
This compilation episode argues that private credit’s 2026 headline was less about a broken asset class than about greater visibility into dispersion, liquidity constraints, and manager differences. The central takeaway is that underwriting quality, valuation discipline, and strategy-specific analysis matter more now that private credit is broader and more differentiated than ever.
The Bridge Ep. 20: Do Private Markets Need More Liquidity?
Khalil Hibri argues that private market secondaries are becoming more efficient, specialized, and useful for both liquidity and price discovery. He also makes the case that lending against private fund interests is a complementary liquidity tool as the market matures.
The Bridge Ep. 19: Do You Need to Own AI to Profit From It?
Mike Dorrell argues the best way to invest in AI is not through the technology itself, but through the infrastructure that enables it: data centers, power, grids, and logistics. He explains how AI has changed contract economics, valuation dynamics, and permitting pressures across the infrastructure stack.
The Bridge Ep. 18: Will AI Replace Jobs Or Create Them?
OpenAI chief economist Ronnie Chatterji argues AI is reshaping work more by changing tasks than eliminating jobs outright, with early-career workers facing the biggest near-term risk. He also says the biggest macro question is whether AI can drive broad economic growth, and that current data systems badly undercount AI’s true impact.
The Bridge Ep. 17: Is Private Credit's Golden Age Over?
David Manlowe argues private credit has moved from a broad “golden age” into an era of dispersion where manager selection matters more, especially because software exposure and AI-driven underwriting changes are increasingly decisive. He also says institutional demand remains solid while wealth-channel redemption pressure, 2027 refinancing risk, and infrastructure credit themes will shape the next phase of the market.
The Bridge Ep. 16: Can AI See What Investors Miss?
Greg Bond argues that AI is already changing hedge fund investing by improving research workflows, not by replacing human judgment. He also says strong quant performance can hide real risks, so investors should focus on liquidity, crowding, and whether returns are true alpha or just exposed beta.
The Bridge Ep. 15: Private Credit's Return to Discipline
Matthieu Chabran argues private credit is undergoing a healthy reset after years of easy money, weak documentation, and deployment pressure. He sees the next phase favoring disciplined managers, especially in secondaries, restructurings, and underwriting that properly prices liquidity, leverage, and AI disruption.
The Bridge Ep. 14: Opportunity Hiding in a “Fine” Economy
Al Rabil argues that real estate is still in a major dislocation caused by the 2022–2023 rate shock, even though the broader economy looks fine. He says the best opportunities are in operationally intensive sectors like medical office, seniors housing, student housing, and light industrial, where demographics and constrained new supply support long-term demand.
The Bridge Ep. 13: Good Credit Holds. Bad Credit Breaks
Vivek Bantwal argues private credit is not breaking so much as repricing around discipline, with strong borrowers and well-underwritten managers separating from weaker ones. He says Goldman’s structure, sourcing, and limited retail evergreen exposure have helped it navigate volatility while he sees growth shifting toward private investment grade and asset-based finance.
The Bridge Ep. 11: Expensive Isn't a Bubble
Cliff Asness argues that expensive markets are not automatically bubbles, and that the real distinction is whether prices can be justified by non-ridiculous assumptions. He also explains how AQR’s quant, value, and alternative-data approaches have evolved, and why crowding and capacity can erode even good strategies.
The Bridge Ep. 10: AI Broke the Rule of 40. Meet the Rule of 70.
Vista Equity Partners’ David Breach argues that AI is rewriting software economics, pushing the old Rule of 40 toward a Rule of 60 or 70 as incumbents use enterprise data, context, and distribution to create both faster growth and higher margins. He also says AI’s real bottleneck is inference cost, which is driving a split between training and purpose-built inference infrastructure, while the biggest value capture will likely sit in the enterprise application layer.
The Bridge Ep. 9 | Software's on Sale. Is the Correction Over?
Steve Tananbaum argues software valuations have fallen sharply, but the correction may still be only halfway done. He connects that view to a broader philosophy of buying transitions with downside protection, while seeing selective opportunities in stressed, structured, and private credit.