1 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bloomberg pm L podcast. I'm Pim Fox. 2 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: Along with my co host Lisa Bramowitz. Each day we 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: bring you the most important, noteworthy, and useful interviews for 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: you and your money, whether you're at the grocery store 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: or the trading floor. Find the Bloomberg p m L 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Bloomberg dot Com. We 7 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: have been talking a lot about how this year has 8 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: been better for stock pickers because there is more divergence 9 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: between shares and it's less of a macro story and 10 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: moving more towards specific company stories. Mark Travis knows this 11 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: as well as anyone President chief executive officer of Intrepid 12 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: Capital Funds with nearly one billion dollars under management based 13 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mark, you know I'm wondering. I 14 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: was looking through some of your top picks and the 15 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: one that really caught my eye was Leucadia because this 16 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:09,960 Speaker 1: firm is an interesting bet on the boutique Jeffreys, which 17 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: is at the heart of trading and a lot of 18 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,680 Speaker 1: people think of as a bell weather for the rest 19 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: of Wall Street. Since the report earlier, given the fact 20 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: that we are seeing lower trading results out of some 21 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: of the banks. Does that weigh on your decision to 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: sell or buy Lucadia, Well, Lisa, it's a great example 23 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: of value lating security for us and in trepic capital. 24 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: When we bought it in the high teens, it was 25 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: at a discount to tangible book and as you're aware, 26 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: UM Jeffreys is a material part of that of it, 27 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: and it had been knocked down by fixed income trading 28 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: at Jeffreys and UM also National Beef. The spreads were 29 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: tight between UM, you know, cost of cattle and what 30 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: they could sell them for. That's since widened out, and 31 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: and UM Jeffreys is also reported improved fixed income trading UM. 32 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: So you know we've done well in the time we've 33 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: had it. I've followed Lukatia frankly since it was run 34 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 1: by UM Mr Cummings and Steinberg back in the day. 35 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: And it's really a kind of as some people refer 36 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: to as a mini Berkshire Hathaway, which I've also been 37 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: a shareholder, fortunately for a long period of time. So 38 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: UM they used to own a winery too, I believe, 39 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: and you used to get a discount. I believe you 40 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: were a stockholder. I mean, if the more you appeel 41 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,959 Speaker 1: the onion PIM, the more you find it. Lucadia owns 42 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: um as. You know, it's got oil and gas, it's 43 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: got timber, it's got auto dealerships, It's got you know, 44 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: on and on. So UM, I think in a in 45 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: a world where there's very few miss priced securities, I 46 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: think it's not unreasonably priced, even at this point in 47 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: the you know, twenty six or seven dollar range. And um, 48 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: you know, I think if if Mr Hadler continues to 49 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: work as magic at Jeffreys, I think we'll improved share price, 50 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: not to mention the other subcomponent parts, it will hopefully 51 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: do well in addition to that. So Mark, I want 52 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: to ask you about one particular company that you want 53 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: to focus on. This is Sintel. And the reason I 54 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: want to do this is because I don't know whether 55 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: you've obviously I'm sure paid attention to the back and 56 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: forth between financial technology and the ability to test certain 57 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: systems and so on. They've got a big market in 58 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: banking capital markets as well as cards and payments. I 59 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,399 Speaker 1: also note that there's the new chief executive coming into 60 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: Bank of New York, Mellon, who was formerly the chief 61 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: executive at Visa. So these kinds of industries are no 62 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: longer strictly banks or or strictly payment systems. What if 63 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: you could talk about sintell and how that caught your attention. Well, 64 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: I think that there are three biggest customers are m X, 65 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: State Street, and UM that acts and the way we 66 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 1: became involved, I believe of him is a pre announced 67 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: revenue decline. They pre announced maybe fifty million dollars off 68 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: the top, and it knocked the shares down, But I 69 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: think it was really driven by costco firing m X 70 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: and MX pulling back the throttle on discretionary I T spending. 71 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: UM management has bought a big sluck of slug of shares. 72 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: They owned a significant part of it already. I think 73 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: the h one Visa issue with Trump now and the 74 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: executive office is somewhat of a problematic for them, and 75 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: UM some of the other parts of the you know, 76 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 1: technology space. UM uh, there's concerned that they haven't adapted 77 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: to social media and whatever. But in the verticals where 78 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: they are, I think they have very good margins, a 79 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: lot of free cash flow, and UM, you know that's 80 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: that's the position we're comfortable to wait until that cash 81 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 1: bubbles forth and you get a price in the mid 82 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:02,280 Speaker 1: twenties versus six seventeen dollars today. Mark what's your time 83 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 1: horizon when you're investing forever? All right? I wish we 84 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 1: all had forever? No, this is important because I feel 85 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: like right now people are saying things are very highly valued. 86 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: Perhaps they are, but you can't invest in nothing if 87 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: your time horizons forever. Well. Our our premise, Lisa and 88 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: Intrepid Capital Funds has always been somewhat different, as Pim 89 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: can not has head or shake his head one way 90 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: or the other. But our our premises we want to 91 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: find a material discount to a private market value using 92 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: pretty high discount rates in our cash flow, and or 93 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: we want to do an asset valuation break up again 94 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: not making aggressive of assumptions about the current market values, 95 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: and can we find a discount and if we can't 96 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 1: find one, will default to cash. So the analogy I 97 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,840 Speaker 1: use for people is when prices are high, cash is high. 98 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: When prices are low, cash is low. Alright, So how 99 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: high is your cash holding right now? It's about how 100 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: is that compared to say a year ago. Well, I've 101 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: had some inflows, I've had some bonds uh old and 102 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: I've had some securities bought out. Um it's higher though, 103 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 1: I'm guessing it's six eight percent higher than it was 104 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: this time last year. And how is the distribution between 105 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: bonds and stocks changed? Stocks have come down, bonds have 106 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: held about the same. Really, is it? Is it government 107 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: or is it? It's always been kind of crossover paper alright, 108 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,160 Speaker 1: to like the double and triple B kind of Yeah, 109 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 1: we dig around. The most interesting piece of paper on 110 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: right now is a Primaro mining convert um. It trades 111 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:33,600 Speaker 1: about fifty eight since on the dollar. They have a 112 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: single mind in Mexico and the Mexicans going strike until 113 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: their wives tell them they have to go back to 114 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,839 Speaker 1: work and then the bondle rally and or whatever happens 115 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 1: to goal prices. What's the biggest challenge right now to 116 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: get people interested in stocks? We keep hearing about e 117 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: t FS, index funds, low cost so on. People still 118 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,479 Speaker 1: interested in actual companies, like investing in businesses. You know, 119 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,359 Speaker 1: it's interesting and you mentioned that PIM we helped sponsor, 120 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,359 Speaker 1: in fact, we sponsor Bloomberg machine. At the University of 121 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 1: North Florida, they have what they call the Osprey investment group, 122 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: and I go every year and listen to these kids 123 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: talk and they talk about the portfolio, and basically they 124 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: bring him in in September October and they manage the 125 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: money until April May and then they report he did 126 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: air quotes, go on. Manage the money, yeah, and they 127 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: you know, but it's a very trading centric philosophy and 128 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 1: a lot of e t f s and what have you. 129 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: And I made a comment to somebody recently, I said, 130 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: I think they're probably bright kids, but I'd have to 131 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: detrain them before they could work for me. So I 132 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: wish it was a free lunch in the capital markets. 133 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: I haven't been able to find one, and I don't 134 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: think e t s are not necessarily a free lunch. Um. 135 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: I want to find a good business at a good 136 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: price and hang onto it as long as I can. 137 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: I want of thanks very much for coming in and 138 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: spending time with us. As always, Mark Travisy is the 139 00:07:55,240 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: president chief executive of Intrepid Capital, based in Jacksonville, Florida. 140 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: I want to turn our attention now to a topic 141 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: of private equity and joining us as Eric Hershey is 142 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: the vice chairman and the head of Strategic initiatives for 143 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 1: Hamilton's Lane assets under management about forty billion dollars based 144 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, Eric, thank you for being with us here 145 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: in the studio. I just want to cast your mind 146 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: back to March one of this year. There were two 147 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: I p O s that kind of priced on the 148 00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: same day. Right. One was Hamilton's Lane and the other 149 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: was Snap. The shares of Hamilton's Lane are up thirty 150 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: nine percent since the I p O and the shares 151 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: of Snap are down twelve How did you guys do this? Well? 152 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,079 Speaker 1: I think this certly shows the interest in the alternative side, 153 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: that it's perhaps not as disappearing as an asset classes 154 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,839 Speaker 1: as I think perhaps other businesses. But it was funny 155 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: we were kind of watching them along the way, and 156 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:09,959 Speaker 1: businesses have nothing to do with each other, and yet 157 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: we were being kind of compared all the time because 158 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,319 Speaker 1: it's where investors same day. Well, I have to wonder, 159 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: you know, last night Cowper's Board California Pension, the biggest 160 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: pension plan public pension in the country, said that it 161 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: was exploring direct investing in order to get around paying 162 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 1: private equity firm such high fees. Uh. Do you hear 163 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: a lot about investors, clients hoping to reduce their fees, 164 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: and do you expect this to be an ongoing pressure? 165 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: I think, Look, we live in a world where everyone 166 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: wants to get more for less, and it's whether it's 167 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: in the restaurant business, or whether it's in the investment business, 168 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: whether it's in the retail space. Every client consumer is 169 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: focused on trying to get the most value for their dollar. 170 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: And the pension funds are not any different. Nobody loves 171 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: to pay fees. But you gotta step back and ask 172 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: the question of just because you don't like to pay fees, 173 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: can you actually replicate the returns yourself with the resources 174 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: you have at your disposal. That I think is the dilemma. 175 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:11,959 Speaker 1: I think we see it. We certainly hear a lot 176 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: of institutions talking about trying to bypass this and bypass that. 177 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 1: But then you sort of nod and say, okay, well 178 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: what does that mean for your own infrastructure, your own resources, 179 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,199 Speaker 1: and can you actually attract and get the people necessary 180 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: to generate the performance that you're seeing across the asset class? Eric, 181 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: you're recently closed a fund. This is the Hamilton Lanes 182 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: Strategic Opportunities Fund designed to target private credit investments around 183 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: the globe. Just tell us quickly about the fund and 184 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 1: how much you raised and what was the target. Maybe 185 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 1: that tells people something about demand. Yeah, so we raised 186 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 1: a significant amount over the target. And I think what 187 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: it reflects is the fact that private credit is really 188 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,079 Speaker 1: the booming part of our overall industry. I think when 189 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: you see as a kind of a yield starved overall environment, 190 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: you're seeing investors just rapidly you kind of redeploy public 191 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: fixed income assets into private fixed income assets, and so 192 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: the market on the private side much more inefficient. Frankly, 193 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 1: it's growing in scale. A lot of the practitioners the 194 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 1: banks have been kind of knocked out of the business, 195 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:16,200 Speaker 1: and so you're seeing more of the kind of the 196 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 1: private market GPS kind of stepping in to fill that void. 197 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,520 Speaker 1: And so again, returns have been very good. The spreads 198 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: against the public market have been very, very wide, and 199 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,359 Speaker 1: you're seeing people who are happy to trade liquidity today 200 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: for higher returns, and I think that's been a real shift. 201 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:33,679 Speaker 1: So the investment grade corporate on market in the US 202 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: is about five point nine trillion dollars. The high yield 203 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: public I'm talking about is one point three trillion dollars. 204 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: How big in context? Just putting that into context, how 205 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 1: big is this private debt market and how big has 206 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,959 Speaker 1: it grown? So it's tiny in context of that tiny, 207 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: just like the entire private markets are tiny. We're looking 208 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: at fundraising statistics last year and total dollars deployed. If 209 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,959 Speaker 1: you look at the total dollars invested across the entire 210 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 1: private equity landscape, it wasn't enough money deployed last year 211 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 1: to go buy Apple. I mean, that's the thing that 212 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: I think when you step back and put it in 213 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:10,439 Speaker 1: context of the private markets are small in any metric 214 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,000 Speaker 1: in comparison to the public markets, but they're growing. But 215 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:15,560 Speaker 1: they're growing, and there's a lot of money chasing them. 216 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:19,239 Speaker 1: How concerned are you about these UH securities becoming overvalued 217 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: at this point? Yeah? So I think the private markets 218 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:23,440 Speaker 1: have gotten expensive like the rest of the markets have 219 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:25,560 Speaker 1: gotten expensive. I think if you put the private markets 220 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 1: in context of the public side, there you actually see 221 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,000 Speaker 1: that the private is still trading at a material discount 222 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,719 Speaker 1: to the public markets, and it should. Again a real 223 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: lack of liquidity, and so again investors are kind of 224 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: weighing that. I go back to my earlier comment. I 225 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: think one of the things that's changing so much among 226 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: the institutional investors how they think and value and price liquidity. 227 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,679 Speaker 1: I think, going into the financial crisis, most of them 228 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:52,080 Speaker 1: frankly overvalued liquidity. I think coming out of this, many 229 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 1: of them are beginning to shift and say, we're pension 230 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: We're gonna be around for decades, if not hundreds of years. 231 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 1: We can probably start to take the chan ants of 232 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: putting a lot more assets in an ill liquid bucket 233 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 1: and take the better longer term returns for that. So 234 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,239 Speaker 1: the pendulum is swinging back to h accepting a liquidity. 235 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: Eric Hush, thank you so much for joining us. Eric 236 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: Kush's vice chairman and head of strategic Initiatives at Hamilton Lane, 237 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: which oversees about forty billion dollars and it's based in Philadelphia. Well, 238 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,520 Speaker 1: Netflix shares are soaring, everyone's back in love with this 239 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:42,000 Speaker 1: video streaming service, and yet that cash burn just always 240 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: is amazing. To Shara Ovid, who joins us now. Shara 241 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 1: Ovida is a Bloomberg gad Fly columnist who has been 242 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 1: talking a lot about this over the past two days, 243 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,200 Speaker 1: and I've been participating, so I thought, why don't we 244 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 1: just talk to each other. Let's talk to each other. 245 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: We need Yeah, we have the same conversation over and 246 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: over again, Shira. So what's going on here and why 247 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: are stock investors dismissing the fact that this company just 248 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 1: can't seem to make money? Well, look, everything is a 249 00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: trade off right in in how you run a company. 250 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: And Netflix has made a concerted strategy to try to 251 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: grow its subscriber base as quickly as it possibly can 252 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: in the US and outside, and as a result of that, 253 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: it is hemorrhaging cash that haven't been free cash flow 254 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: positive for three years. In the last twelve months, the 255 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,720 Speaker 1: free cash flow is negative two point one billion dollars, which, 256 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: as I pointed out in my Gatfly column yesterday's bigger 257 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: than the negative free cash flow at Tesla, which is 258 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: sort of notorious for burning cash like there's no tomorrow. Sure, 259 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 1: you know we've heard this kind of story before. When 260 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: you talk about subscriber growth, my mind turns back to 261 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 1: a O L and the idea that every month you 262 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: would wait for those subscriber numbers, and if they were 263 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 1: positive or exceeded estimates, then stock moved higher, if not lower, 264 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: and then eventually of course you sell the company to 265 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: Time Warner. Uh. This has got a market cap of 266 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 1: about seventy eight billion dollars, which I think equals maybe 267 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: what cash Apple has on its balance sheet. This is 268 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: sticky money, though, this is different than this is like 269 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: its own cable system, isn't it. Yeah, it's pretty sticky. 270 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: I mean, look, you can. Yeah, it's not very expensive 271 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: at least if you you know, for most households in 272 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:32,960 Speaker 1: the US, that's not very expensive. And it is pretty sticky. 273 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 1: Although you can cancel Netflix at any time, right, It's 274 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: it's not exactly a good luck trying to do that 275 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: if you've got a family, Yes, exactly. I mean, look, 276 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: the fact is that a lot of Netflix subscribers really 277 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: like it and feel like they get a lot of 278 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: value out of that ten bucks a month. Well, they 279 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: got all the content to they get. The House of Cards. 280 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: Aren't just the new black, right, I mean, these are 281 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: all hit programs that you're not going to watch anywhere 282 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: else I'm not. I mean, look, Netflix has a hunt 283 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: more than a hundred million subscribers globally, in fifty million 284 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: in the United States. That's roughly half of the households 285 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: in the United States. With the broadband internet access. So 286 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: by any measure, what they have done to build this 287 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: company is incredibly impressive. They've changed the nature of entertainment. So, uh, 288 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 1: you know, him was saying that they have a market 289 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:20,800 Speaker 1: cap of about seventy eight billion dollars, which makes them 290 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 1: a very expensive takeover target if someone were interested in that. However, 291 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: you do have to wonder if a conglomerate like Amazon 292 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:36,320 Speaker 1: that has perhaps broader distribution and more diversified streams of 293 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: revenue might do well to own a company like this 294 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: rather than trying to go it alone and compete in 295 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: the content game. Is there any talk of that? Over 296 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: the years, Netflix has definitely been the subject of takeover speculation, rumors, 297 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: wish for thinking whatever you want to call it. A 298 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: Disney and Apple or among the companies that are often 299 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 1: mentioned as potential acquirers of Netflix. But yeah, it is 300 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: a billion dollar plus company, so with a takeover premium, 301 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,399 Speaker 1: that's a hundred billion dollars even for Apple, that's a 302 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: very large acquisition, so it's no easy feet And also, look, 303 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: if you look at Amazon, that's a company that has 304 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 1: sort of built a mini Netflix on its own without 305 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: having to buy Netflix, and um, Apple and Facebook both 306 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 1: have uh web video ambitions of their own that they're 307 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: doing in how so, it's not impossible to sort of 308 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: replicate Netflix or get close to replicating Netflix without buying Netflix. 309 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 1: So Netflix expects to keep burning cash. What could they 310 00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:39,920 Speaker 1: do that would change your mind about how damaging our not? Uh? Well, 311 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: I I guess sustained subscriber growth would be helpful. And 312 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:49,439 Speaker 1: at some point, right and I don't know when that is, UM, 313 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: they're gonna have to start showing that operating leverage right 314 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:57,479 Speaker 1: that where that that switch flips and they start they 315 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 1: go from burning cash to generating cash. But until I 316 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 1: see that actually happening, I think it's just worthwhile to 317 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,440 Speaker 1: keep reminding people this is not a strategy without risks. 318 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,400 Speaker 1: And if you look at the stock market, it's pricing 319 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,200 Speaker 1: in that Netflix is going to be totally fine. And 320 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 1: I'm just saying, look, this is a this is a 321 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,159 Speaker 1: risky strategy where they're burning cash in order to grow 322 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,119 Speaker 1: and maybe that'll turn out great or maybe it won't. 323 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: I want to thank you very much, Sharra Overday Bloomberg 324 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,919 Speaker 1: Gadfly columnists when it comes to all things technology and uh, 325 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,919 Speaker 1: I encourage you to read her latest column at Bloomberg 326 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:49,399 Speaker 1: dot com. All right, let's visit them with our congressional reporter, 327 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 1: Laura lit Then she joins us from Washington, and Laura, 328 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 1: thanks very much for being with us. A long night 329 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: or a short night for Senate Republicans, Well, last night 330 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,640 Speaker 1: was the long night for reporters trying to cover them. 331 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,280 Speaker 1: But I don't expect tonight will be a late night now. 332 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,439 Speaker 1: I think they're trying to regroup. And the first thing 333 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 1: that will happen today in the big moment, will be 334 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:12,120 Speaker 1: when Senate Republicans have a caucus meeting at two pm 335 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:13,879 Speaker 1: and try to figure out what they're going to do next. 336 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,199 Speaker 1: And um, yeah, you know there's gonna be a lot 337 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: of feedback from McConnell from his rank and file. I'm 338 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: sure that there will be. I mean, this is a 339 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 1: huge loss for him. This is really this is the 340 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: first time ever that he's the leader of the Republicans 341 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: while they're in a majority. And how much does this 342 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:37,639 Speaker 1: set back his agenda? It potentially causes some loss of 343 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,719 Speaker 1: momentum for other issues they really have in the Senate 344 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: other than confirming Neil Gorssh which was an a plus 345 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,119 Speaker 1: accomplishment for the Republicans of our President Trump. They have 346 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: largely been simply doing confirmations of agencies and assistant secretaries 347 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: and all kinds of positions after they moved from the 348 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 1: cabinet and have not really been moving very much in 349 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,119 Speaker 1: policy wise. And this is a this is what they 350 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:03,159 Speaker 1: spent half a year on in the House, in the Senate. 351 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: Uh And now they're going to have to try to 352 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 1: see if they have lost momentum on other issues like 353 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: the spending bills for next fiscal year, where they will 354 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,160 Speaker 1: need some bipartisan support. It might give Democrats a little 355 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 1: more edge and those kind of talks over agency funding. 356 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: And there's also an effort by the Republicans to push 357 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 1: through a big overhaul of the tax code. Now, is 358 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:32,119 Speaker 1: there some procedural issues that are affected by the fact 359 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: that this does not look like it will pass Because 360 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,480 Speaker 1: I understand that the president has sixty days from the 361 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,879 Speaker 1: time that he takes office. I believe in order to 362 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,240 Speaker 1: let's say, undo legislation or executive orders that were passed 363 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 1: by a previous administration. That's not unusual. Well, that that 364 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: time period, if you're talking about the Congressional Review Act, 365 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,119 Speaker 1: that that time perade passed us in May. That's what 366 00:20:58,160 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: I mean. In other words, now they're going to have 367 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:04,879 Speaker 1: to put something together. Yes, and this is UH, you know, 368 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:10,160 Speaker 1: turning away from the regulatory agenda which that related to UM. 369 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: They what will happen with healthcare is this vote is 370 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:18,159 Speaker 1: likely to UM to fail. To the vote they're going 371 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,159 Speaker 1: to turn to now as an alternative, which is simply 372 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,479 Speaker 1: to repeal Obamacare and then replace it in two years. 373 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:25,679 Speaker 1: And then what we end to pay will happen with 374 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,760 Speaker 1: healthcare is that we will move into kind of like 375 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:32,439 Speaker 1: bipartisan mode, UH with Democrats to talk about things like 376 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 1: hasse sharing, subsidies for insurers on the Obamacare exchanges, and 377 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: other things that can get support in both parties. Laura, 378 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,639 Speaker 1: how did this develop so quickly? Because there was a 379 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,640 Speaker 1: lot of back and forth and a lot of game 380 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: playing and moving the needle in different directions, and and UH, 381 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: Mitch McConnell had quite a bit of money he could 382 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,520 Speaker 1: kind of play with trying to get UH senators on 383 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: board with him. And then all of a sudden overnight 384 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: boom to senators parted way together with McConnell giving him 385 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: UH to making it two votes short. Of the majority 386 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: that he needed to pass this bill. How did this 387 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: develop so quickly? It was a big surprise. In fact, 388 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,640 Speaker 1: the President had just finished a meeting, probably about an 389 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:20,240 Speaker 1: hour before the two senators Mike Lee and Um Jerry 390 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:23,160 Speaker 1: Moran came out against the bill. Uh. He was meeting 391 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 1: to talk with seven senators, including two members of the leadership, 392 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,119 Speaker 1: about strategy on the bill and about a path forward. 393 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 1: Lindsey Graham had just told me and other reporters that 394 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:35,199 Speaker 1: he got off a cell phone with John McCain UM 395 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: heading into a Senate vote where McCain, whose surgery had 396 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 1: had deprived McConnell of the votes to proceed right away 397 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: over the weekend. H McCain was telling Graham. He said 398 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: that he was just itching to get back to Washington 399 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: and be back here next week to resume things. No 400 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 1: one was really expecting this, and what happened with the 401 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,639 Speaker 1: two senators they announced right at the same time, and 402 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 1: it had the feeling of what we would call a 403 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 1: pairing where the two of them had need to do this, 404 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: then neither of them had to be the bad guy 405 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 1: who is the final death Knell and Um big surprise 406 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: enough so that at Bloomberg. We have people who monitor 407 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: social media. We had someone in Sydney, Australia who is 408 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: on duty who noticed their pair of tweets go out 409 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 1: at the same time and alerted us right away, and 410 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: we were uh writing stories for many hours after that. Now, 411 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: in the in the prospect of just repealing the Affordable 412 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: Care Act, what happens to it, Well, what what will 413 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:34,280 Speaker 1: happen is they will fail to get the votes to 414 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 1: repeal it. We'll widely expected only a small number will 415 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: get the votes, so that after all this, they're not 416 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: even going to get some kind of uh pyr pyrate victory. Uh, 417 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,600 Speaker 1: it would appear on that front. No, Uh, we don't 418 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: expect something to pass in the Senate. Uh. Paul Ryan, 419 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: I think if he put a vote like that to 420 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: the House, there's some question. Maybe something like that could 421 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: go through, but it will it will effectively die. I 422 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:04,640 Speaker 1: believe after this voted, let's everybody be on record, um, 423 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 1: and then they will move on to something else, which 424 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: will be something that might get some more democratic support. 425 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,199 Speaker 1: Laura Livin, thank you so much for joining us, and 426 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: I hope you get some sleep tonight. Laura Litvin, Congressional 427 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,919 Speaker 1: reporter for Bloomberg who has been hard at work of 428 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: burning the midnight oil to follow the quickly developing uh, 429 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:30,199 Speaker 1: I mean demise of this bill. Truly UH surprising. I 430 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 1: woke up and was not um, I was not expecting this. 431 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Bloomberg P and L podcast. 432 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,959 Speaker 1: You can subscribe and listen to interviews at Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, 433 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: or whatever podcast platform you prefer. I'm Pim Fox. I'm 434 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,600 Speaker 1: on Twitter at pim Fox. I'm on Twitter at Lisa Abramo. 435 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,320 Speaker 1: It's one before the podcast. You can always catch us 436 00:24:53,359 --> 00:25:01,920 Speaker 1: worldwide on Bloomberg Radio