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

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.Show Notes00:00 Hard Asset Diversification00:25 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream01:01 Message from our Sponsor, Ultimus02:07 Meet Ryan Roberge04:16 Ryan Career Origins04:52 From Banking to TPG05:25 King Street Credit Training06:07 Equity To Credit Shift07:04 Downside First Mindset07:48 What Is Infrastructure Credit08:08 Three Core Sectors08:25 Asset Level Underwriting09:02 Capital Intensive Returns09:51 Thinking Like An Owner10:44 Funding Gap And AI Tailwinds11:01 Why Direct Lending Misses It12:29 Construction And Collateral Value13:15 Capital Markets Spectrum15:56 Private Credit Vs Infra Credit18:55 Where It Fits In Portfolios24:36 Data Centers Tech Risk31:04 Cycle Risk Reality Check31:32 Long Duration Mindset32:13 Loan Horizon Framework32:40 Asset First Underwriting32:53 Maintenance Capex Truth33:59 Stress Testing Recovery34:13 Capital Flood Into Infra35:14 Theme Chasing Warning36:02 Why Skip Renewables36:20 Bigger Deals Cheaper Money36:51 ABF And Insurance Capital37:17 Non-IG Hard Asset Logic38:11 Scale Keeps IG Away38:25 Key Underwriting Risks38:34 Loan To Value Reality39:01 Fiber To Home Case Study40:09 Growth Platform Underwrite41:01 Hiring For Credit Mindset42:23 Downside Recovery Culture43:10 Contrarian AI Insight44:07 Circular Demand Red Flags46:39 Data Center Risk Filters49:20 Investor Demand And ClosingA Word from Our Sponsor, UltimusThis 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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email info@ultimusfundsolutions.com.We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.