Uncertainty and volatility are increasingly the new normal in today's investment markets. This has led many investors to seek out new asset classes that are not only stable and generate attractive returns but are also backed by structural growth trends. One asset class that meets these criteria is infrastructure. 

In this episode, Rusty and Robyn talk with Ken Baumgartner, Investment Director at Wellington Management. In his role, Ken provides business management and strategic oversight for asset allocation, inflation hedging solutions, and strategic solutions for multi-manager platforms. He works closely with portfolio managers to evaluate and communicate portfolio characteristics, performance, and market outlook to external constituents. 

Known for his expertise in inflation hedging, Ken talks with Rusty and Robyn about infrastructure as an asset class, the biggest themes in the infrastructure market today, and how infrastructure can help hedge inflation.

Key Takeaways

[02:45] - How Ken got into financial services.

[04:49] - What makes Wellington Management unique.

[06:47] - How infrastructure can help hedge inflation.

[08:46] - Infrastructure as an asset class.

[11:34] - What makes public infrastructure different from private infrastructure.

[13:38] - The biggest themes in the infrastructure space today.

[15:41] - Why electric utilities may be key to the energy transition.

[17:34] - Risks associated with lower volatility asset classes.

[19:13] - What impact has the boom in commodities had on Wellington's outlook on energy?

[23:21] - The impact of midterm elections on infrastructure.

[24:27] - How Ken maintains his mental and physical well-being to perform at a high level.

[25:54] - Ken's content recommendation.

Quotes

[07:55] - "Compared to potentially other higher beta volatile asset classes, such as natural resource equities or commodities, the performance of the infrastructure profile will be much more stable." ~ Ken Baumgartner

[13:47] - "One of the biggest themes across global markets is the idea of decarbonization. Here you have a multi-decade secular growth in both the transmission and the renewable space. And the best way to invest is through the regulated utilities that own the wires and the transmission and are also investing in renewables to bring their power production footprint." ~ Ken Baumgartner

[16:45] - "Carbon should not necessarily be thought of as dirty. People are too quick to cast aside some of these companies that today might still have some carbon in their power production stack but are doing more for the world to decarbonize than any of the cleanest and greenest." ~ Ken Baumgartner

Links 

Ken Baumgartner on LinkedIn

Wellington Management

Mr. Brightside by The Killers

Everlong by Foo Fighters

T.N.T. by AC/DC

Goldman Sachs

New York Islanders

Harvard Business School

John Hancock Investment Management

Podcasts - Freakonomics

WellSaid - The Wellington Management Podcast 

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success

Connect with our hosts

Rusty Vanneman

Robyn Murray

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2003-OPS-10/25/2022