Spotlight: A PEI Podcast

Having navigated headwinds from interest rate hikes and secular shifts in office usage and online shopping in recent years, the US commercial mortgage-backed securities market was seemingly embracing a full resurgence. In 2024, its origination hit a record $104.05 billion, a 165 percent increase from the previous year.   While that momentum continued into the first quarter of 2025, it stumbled when the overall capital markets were taken on a volatile ride after the Trump administration’s announcement in April about massive changes in tariffs. As a result, April was a much quieter month for CMBS. Deals got pulled or paused, and there were fewer loans priced.   Borrowers, issuers and bond buyers told PERE Credit that although the activities were slowed down by the unprecedented market volatility, the market stabilized swiftly, with spreads gradually grinding back and new originations returning going into May.  Often viewed as a barometer of the broader commercial real estate market, the sector’s swift recovery after market turmoil signals the resilience of the industry in an uncertain macroeconomic environment. In this episode, Zachary Cohn, managing director at Brookfield Asset Management, and James Stouse, senior director of CMBS credit research at Barings, shared their observations on the CMBS resurgence.  For more insights on this, see PERE Credit‘s June/July cover story.

This episode is sponsored by AlixPartners The Disruption Matters special podcast miniseries [https://www.privateequityinternational.com/podcast-disruption-matters/] is back for its fourth season, and this year, leading industry experts will discuss how private markets can still deliver “weatherproof growth”, despite the headwinds of a revolution in tech, geopolitics and global markets. In this first episode, we set the stage by acknowledging the unique pressures of the moment, as well as what they have in common with covid and how they differ. Our experts then detail the best practices around 100-day response plans, which are all-hands-on-deck sprints to respond to pressures on a company’s fortunes. Sustained discipline and collaborating with customers prove to be the keys to unlocking the latent potential of a disruption. As one panelist puts it, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Guests include Jason McDannold, co-lead of the private equity practice at AlixPartners; Hoyoung Pak, partner, managing director and global co-lead of the AI & Data Practice Group at AlixPartners; Mary Rachide, a managing director with ICV Partners; Bert Notini, a managing director at New Mountain Capital and co-lead of the firm’s operating partner group; and John Sander, a principal in portfolio solutions at Lightyear Capital.

The growth of private equity fundraising is slowing down. The 300 firms that feature on the 2025 edition of the PEI 300 [https://www.privateequityinternational.com/pei-300/] – Private Equity International’s annual ranking of the industry’s biggest fundraisers – collectively raised $3.29 trillion over the preceding five years. While still a record high for the industry, the level of year-on-year growth is a departure from prior iterations. On average, the PEI 300 grows by 11 percent in total capital raising each year. The 0.3 percent rise in this year’s ranking may therefore be a cause for concern, market sources tell us. In this episode of Spotlight, PEI editor Helen de Beer, senior editor Adam Le and Americas correspondent Hannah Zhang delve into the reasons behind this fundraising flatline and examine some of the bright spots that exist beyond the headline numbers. Click here [https://www.privateequityinternational.com/pei-300/] to see this year's PEI 300 ranking and full coverage. Click here [https://www.peievents.com/en/event/pei-nexus/]to learn more about the Nexus conference in Orlando, February 22-25, 2026

This episode is sponsored by LaSalle Debt Investors and Kayne Anderson  In the wake of rising rates and falling transaction volumes, US real estate debt markets are undergoing a significant transformation. Traditional lenders – especially regional banks – have stepped back, opening space for private credit providers to play a larger role. As a looming wave of loan maturities approaches, participants are preparing for both stress and opportunity. They're deploying capital selectively, often in the form of rescue financing, while building platforms that can flex across cycles. What emerges isn’t a market in freefall or overdrive, but a reset where discipline and structure matter more than ever. Joining us in this episode is David Selznick, chief investment officer of Kayne Anderson’s real estate group, and Craig Oram, president and fund manager at LaSalle Debt Investors. They share how their firms are adapting by focusing on refinancings, leaning into necessity-based assets like multifamily and industrial, and underwriting with more scrutiny than ever before.

This episode is sponsored by Edmond de Rothschild and Palistar Capital and first appeared on The Infrastructure Investor Podcast  [https://www.infrastructureinvestor.com/podcast/] Digital infrastructure is developing rapidly, turbocharged first by the coronavirus pandemic and now by advances in artificial intelligence, which have turned data centres into arguably the hottest investment in infrastructure at the moment. The sector also includes fibre and towers, both of which are also attracting strong investor interest. This episode focuses on the growth of – and opportunities within – digital infrastructure’s three key subsectors. Jean-Francis Dusch, global head of infrastructure and structured finance at EdR, and Josh Oboler, investment partner at Palistar Capital, explore how AI is transforming the data centre landscape, where to find the best opportunities in fibre, and why towers continue to make such a good investment.