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We are going to stay out WES though to a lighter story, no doubt about that.
We're going to head back.
To ces in Las Vegas and to some of those companies in the tech and media world's changing how we consume and how we access content. And among them tim is quick Play, which provides cloud solutions and platforms and services for OTT content delivery and more.
Here to tell us what they're up to is the CEO of Quickplay, Paul Paster, who has held executive positions at media organizations including Disney Plus and Hulu. Paul joins us live at CEES in Las Vegas. Paul, great to have you with us. We're going to talk about what you do with regard to the OTT space, the over the top space over at quick Play in just a minute.
But before that, would love your news on the consolidation news that we saw we'd love your views on the consolidation news that we saw a little earlier this week when it comes to the tie up of Hulu Live and of Fubo TV. Curious about what your reaction to that. As a former executive at Disney, somebody worked at Hulu as well, what do you see as the strategy here?
Sure?
Well, first, thank you for so much for having me, And second, I know your last story was covering the fires in Los Angeles as a prior Los ANGELESO and somebody in the media industry, My heart goes out.
To everybody in Hobery.
Be safe as it relates to the Fubo and Disney announcement obviously this week, Listen, the one thing we need to know and understand is this solved a very big problem for media companies. The Fubo lawsuit obviously was trying to ensure that media companies weren't able to bundle, and that would have devastating effects on these bigger media companies
that still make a lot of money from cable. So for two and twenty million dollars plus the combination of this venture with both Hulu Plus and Fubu, they've really solved a lot of problems both in the lawsuit and in driving scale in the industry, which will hopefully let them kind of build out new consumer propositions.
Paul, do you also think that decision by Disney to merge with Fubu and also launch its ESPN streaming product is kind of enough to I guess you would say future proof it's revenue from accelerated cord cutting, which we know continues.
Well.
Listen, there's still a long term trend where we're seeing a decline in the total reach of cable, but this most certainly lets them launch the new venue opportunity where there is a strong value proposition behind sports and finding a level of aggregation that will really solve a consumer challenge of where do I find my sports and how
do I watch them? So this is a win for consumers and that this product will begin to be launched, and hopefully we'll also find a path for these media companies to continue to address some of the reach concerns they have over the loss of cable subscriptions.
Let's go there and give us an understanding of how you think they navigate this tricky terrain here, I mean the cord cutting that we've seen over the last fifteen years or so has just absolutely devastated the traditional PAYTP providers and even those cable companies that have been carrying
that content. These companies, apart from Netflix, are really trying to figure out what to do what happens to the smaller content players now the Warner Brothers discoveries, the paramounts and the like in an environment such as this.
Yeah, listen, I think every CEO and every person in a media company today is trying to figure out how do they future prove their business and what we can see and what we can tell right from all gen Z consumption is that gen Z consumers are going to YouTube and going to TikTok.
They're watching a ton of short form content.
They spend three hours a day on YouTube and TikTok compared to one hour a day with broadcasts and streamers,
and this is a growing trend among all demographics. So personally, where I believe these media companies to be focused is how do I begin to own the whole conversation around my IP and my content and think about developing a short form content and product strategy that really addresses these gen Z consumers the way that they like to interact with content the way they consume it in these in these moments versus lean back experiences.
They they like to engage.
I think that's the real opportunity for media companies today, if they really want to think about their future and not seeding into these other platforms.
So should Netflix be concerned because they don't necessarily have that short form content that TikTok has, that YouTube shorts that Instagram reels have.
I certainly believe so.
And if you follow my LinkedIn posts, so the last couple of weeks, you'll actually know I was challenging Netflix largely because of Beyonce Bowl. I am a huge Beyonce fan, cowboy Carter fan. I was suiting too for having Netflix having the Christmas NFL You too, see you love it?
Right?
Well, you will't watch the game, right. They made a huge push for people to watch this NFL game on on Christmas Day. I personally, all I really cared about was watching the halftime show was Beyonce. Ten minutes after the broadcast, it was nowhere to be found. No one had thought about the fact that they needed to actually clip it immediately and post it and make it available for their consumers.
Instead, I had watched.
It on YouTube, right, So it created a huge opportunity for YouTube demonetize a huge event when Netflix didn't own the conversation, and if they had other tools and a product focused on shorts, they could have really owned the entire conversation.
Right.
So it's not just about Beyonce, it's the behind the scenes and most importantly, all the social engagement that happens around it. So I think that's a real opportunity for Netflix and all the streamers out there to be thinking about owning the conversation and making sure they're not just focused on long form. They need to have a short form content experience.
It's social life, all right.
Well, last question about the broader industry, and then we want to talk about your company. We mentioned about Disney and Fubo doing their deal. I just want to get your thoughts because you understand space.
You worked at Disney.
What skill set do you think that the Disney board is likely to prioritize in searching for its next leader?
Oh my goodness, Well, if I had that level of insight, well what is the years I could have been.
So what do you think of different butts?
What do you think it's like this iconic media company. It's got great properties, and yet it's trying to figure out, you know, what its world is for the rest of the twenty first century and maybe beyond.
Most certainly, well, I think at the end of the day, listen, I think you need somebody who has a vision of what twenty thirty looks like, twenty thirty five looks like from a consumer standpoint, and how technology is going to fundamentally change both the creative side of the industry and the distribution side of the industry. It is incredible when we look at the tools that are becoming available.
To everyday users.
When you look at the AI technology that can take texts into a video format and more in version one, in version two of that, imagine what that looks like in five years. That blending and that differentiation between premium content and UGC driven content is eroding very rapid and so you need to figure out ways to harness it, and you need a CEO that embraces that type of vision.
All right, So let's talk about your world. Tell us about you know, your company. We did a little introduction. It sounds like you guys are at this great cross section when it comes to content and not just traditional providers. But you know, it's health, it's security, it's a lot of stuff going on. Tell us about your world. What is it that moves the financial need needle?
Where's the growth?
Certainly, so listen, this has been a We started the company five years ago, back in the early days of the of COVID, but we recognized that this was a moment where media companies were beginning to focus on consumers and streamers right and they built out their version one other platform. We're a media company, We're a technology company focus on chier one Media who's looking to build out streaming solutions that also can advance the overall consumer experience.
So what we what you've seen is we support the likes of Yankee Sports Network, Madison Square Garden and their joint venture. We support ah Media on and Media Group
and delivering that overall consumer experience. What we're advancing in our conversation here at CEES is how do we begin to really think about leveraging first AI tools to help companies develop shorts content, To leverage AI tools that can take live and VOD content, convert it into shorts and then verticalize that to publish that into a syndicated or owned app experience, and second to help them advance that.
Social like experience. We were just talking about that.
How do you build a destination where you can have an infinite scroll, interact with the content with legs, commons, emojis to be able to share that into other platforms, So the basis of the conversation starts on owned platform.
Those are the types of experiences we're hoping to.
Advance within the media industry and really help shape the opportunity for these streamers around new ad units, around driving promotion, around their long form engagement, driving promotion around their subscriptions, and fundamentally creating this virtual cycle of consumers leveraging and using their app on a daily basis, which really becomes the foundation for gaining mind share and time spent with consumers.
So it sounds like you're making a bet that these companies that are your clients can actually build the audience within apps and then get consumers and get viewers and audience to engage there and not just on the tiktoks, the instagrams and the youtubes. Is that correct, because that seems like a really tall task.
That's that's right, Well, if you think about the IP that they have. So I'm saying, why don't you start with the destination that's built around your IP right and own the conversation. This is a very traditional way of looking at media in some respects. We've always had windowing strategies where content would start on one platform, then migrate to another, then migrate to another. Today you could take content from live premieres from a VOD where you can
say this is exclusive to our platform. We're going to hold it for a window, maybe it's fifteen minutes. Start the conversation on my platform. Then I'll allow for it to be shared onto other platforms. But its foundation starts with yours. And if you can find a way to get the consumer to open up your app on a more frequent basis right and reach a new audience like a gen Z audience, then you can win the attention game.
Paul, how do you support it financially?
Because that sounds like a lot of people competing for eyeballs and hits and so on and so forth, but also the traditional advertising model also competing for all of that, So how do you support it?
Certainly, so one is I should say the quick play does release research working with gen Z Insights that showcase that gen Z consumer said they would go and visit their streamer more frequently seventy nine percent they would visit it more frequently if they offered a compelling shorts offering. And what they told us is what they're looking to see is reality programming, original content, highlights and clips from their favorite shows and their sports events. So there's a
really clear defined opportunity for the media companies themselves. Then in terms of monetization, right now, you're thinking about adding ad units into your short form experience and then promoting to that long form content experience where you can similarly monetize through ads. If you look at the subscription ads over the last last quarter coming off of the latest Antenna research, the majority of subscription ads are coming through
AD defined subscription plans. So this tells you there's a huge opportunity sitting in the monetization space of relative to ads.
So tiered right, so you're can be able to pay for something so you don't maybe get those ads or something right.
Well, everybody always wants the excuse of the ability to opt out. I would say that I look at shorts though as a way to think about it as a front porch. You make that available to all consumers, and then behind that experience, in your long form traditional streaming experience, you offer the opportunity to have no ads.
Well, where does AI come into this. Does it come into this in the sense of it makes it very easy to actually clip and share something or does it go beyond that? And is there a way for AI to identify that moment that will go viral because editorially people do that. People have to understand what really resonates with the audience.
This is a great question.
So if you think if we break apart at the shorts opportunity and two component parts, I'll tell.
You about the application of AI.
The first part is how do you take a piece of long form content or a live experience and say what are the viral moments?
Right?
And you can actually marry that with what's going on with Google trends to actually take the piece of asset leverage AI, pend the metadata to it, and then say, actually.
This matches a trending moment on Google.
Let's publish in the short form vertical format into an owned or syndicated experience.
So that's all AI driven.
The second piece within that consumer experience that you may
have as a destination sitting with within your app. We're leveraging personalization, right, that's all AI driven, right, which is to understand what are your consumer likes and dislikes, what do you engage with, how much time do you spend with it, and leveraging that to make it a more compelling experience for you every single team time you log in, and of course then apply to that as all the AD opportunity that sits within that, right, because now we
can also do contextual advertising because when you know what the content is along with the personalization, so you're getting a double hit on AI within the ad delivery component. So really AI can be applied applied across the entire spectrum.
Cool stuff, Cool stuff, Come back soon. Love to get an update as things move along through twenty twenty five. Paul Pastor, here's CEO of quick Play joining us there from cees in Las Vegas.
You're listening to the Bloomberg Business Week podcast. Catch us live weekday afternoons from two to five eas during Listen on Applecarplay and Android Atto with the Bloomberg Business app, or watch us live on YouTube.
Our Live blogout with the latest too dead a high number of significant injuries from the fires as they firefighters struggle to contain blazes in Pacific Palace Stades in Pasadena, Carol. More than twenty three thousand acres have burned in twenty four hours. Utilities have cut power to thousands of homes and businesses. My brother's out there in South Pasadena.
How's he doing.
He's getting out of there, waiting for his girlfriend to get off of work. I think they're going to head up to the Central Coast to see my parents. But he's been without power since yesterday.
You know, I feel like we're all kind of messaging everybody out on the West Coast. I mean, it's real, and like you just have a matter of time to like kind of leave your homes and so on and
so forth. In something that we're continuing to track because this fire is expected to continue for at least a couple of days for the latest, and we've been trying to track it in real time and to really help us understand the connection between whether and climate and the insurance story, which is yep, we're a business organization and that is an aspect of it. No doubt about it. We're joined by a great roundtable. Mark Onngloff is editor of Bloomberg Opinion. He covers climate change for US and
also back with us as David Baker. He's Bloomberg News Energy and Climate reporter Marcus in New York. David is in San Francisco. David, let's go back out to the West coast. You've been keeping us up to speed on what's been going on. What's the latest at this hour that you are hearing?
Well, none of it is good. The fires are still utterly out of control most of them. The two biggest ones keep growing. We keep getting updates from cal Fire. The Palisades fire is now above eleven thousand acres. The Eden fire above Pasadena is now above ten thousand. And they're not just burning through woodlands or grassy hillsides. They're burning through actual neighborhoods, both of them. We have more
than one hundred and twenty thousand people evacuated. They are filling into hotels, they're calling up friends and family trying to find a place to stay, and it is starting to really paralyze life in our second largest city.
We just want to mention for those who are watching right now on YouTube and of course on our Bloomberg Original streaming channel that what you are seeing right now is a live shot of the fire. So we're not quite exactly sure of the location here, but obviously within the area that we've been talking the Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, those general areas, but that's what we're seeing right now.
David. I'm racking my brain here trying to come up with a recent historical corollary to this historical precedent to the scale of this evacuation and how many people in structures and homes are at risk here, and I can't do it. Is this unprecedented or do we have historical examples of when fires have threatened and in the devastated areas such as this in the past.
It's funny you say that, because I was having this conversation with a net or a few minutes ago, and honestly, I think the closest thing that you can compare this to is the nineteen ninety four north Ridge earthquake in La I thought, I mean, in terms of a natural disaster of this scope affecting so many people, that's probably it. California.
We've endured so many bad wildfires in the last decade, but most of them have been in rural areas, not in a major city like this, And yeah, this is something different.
Mark Gong Gleff, I want to bring you in.
I've been watching your face on the monitor and you're shaking your head here.
You know, I feel like you and you meet Tim.
We have these conversations of just when we think it can't get any worse, it certainly feels like it can.
Yeah, it's really grim. And when we were talking about things that are in present, you know, one of the things you made. One of the scary things about these fires is that they didn't exist Tuesday morning, like thirty six hours ago. They didn't exist. All we had was a warning from the Weather Service that there were going to be strong Santa Anna wins maybe the strongest ever, the strongest since at least twenty eleven when there were some really devastating ones, and they warned that there was
an extreme risk of wildfire. And this is the first time that the National Weather Service has ever warned of an extreme wildfire risk in the lower forty eight states in January ever, And so right away you got this sense, well, this could be really bad. And you know, we hoped that it wouldn't be, but it has turned out to be as bad, if not worse, than we expected.
Santa Ana Wins mark nothing new, as you write in your piece, what's unique about this moment in history, the development of this area and what's been happening in the broader climate over the last three decades or so that create this really combustible mix.
Yeah, it's a toxic mix, as you say, Santa Ana wins wildfires, those have been part of California life forever. The difference now is that climate change has made a lot of factors much worse. So you get a lot of rain and snow and during those seasons, and that is great. It produces a lot of you get a lot of water, but it produces a lot of plants. And then during the summer and fall seasons when you don't you're not having any rain, the air is hotter,
the air is drier. All these plants that grew during the spring are drying out and providing kindling for these fires. The air is drier, which makes it more combustible. The other big problem here is that we have built millions of homes in the wild and urban interface where maybe you know, wildfires used to just burn and only affect plants and trees. Now the houses themselves are serving as
kindling for these fires. And so you have these fires that are that are hotter than usual, moving faster than usual, and they're jumping to houses which are burning and then creating their own kindling to spread the fires even faster. And it's a scary situation.
It makes me think of the conversations we had over the summer or was it fall really I got to kind of remember my timing here, but just in Upper Manhattan or across the Hudson along the Palisades, something that we've never seen. And what's unusual is that once again you're having these wildfires because of dry conditions, and they're happening in places that are very, very heavily populated, are
near major cities. You're talking about a lot of people and there's a lot there that can quickly catch fire.
David, I want to go back to you.
We know President Biden was in the region, he was there with California Governor Newsom. What are we knowing about resources that are coming in and making sure that everything that can go to fight these wildfires are there.
Biden has pledged federal support for fighting these fires and for helping recover afterward. Newsom has done the same at the state level. And Newsom has quite a lot of experience with this tenure as our governor has coincided with many of these the worst of the fires we've experienced. That said, in terms of actually getting these fires stopped, there's going to be not much either man can do
until these winds start abating. I mean, the main thing driving this right now really is the weather, and it's going to be the case for the next couple of days. As dreadful as all these images are that we're seeing here, and as many people as we throw at the firefight, we're still going to be stuck with these fires growing for several days before we see the full extent of the damage. And bear in mind there's the possibility of another windstorm bearing down on us early next week.
Hey, David, one last question.
Then we want to let you get back to your reporting, because we've been leaning on you heavily and understanding day by day or hour by hour, I should say, what's happening. I am looking at the live blog on the LA wildfires and the leader of the California State Senate, Mike Maguire, saying hoods didn't have proper water flow during the blaze. I mean, is there the concerns, the threats already, the reality that there's not water where it's needed.
This is what President Electrump was referring to in some social media posts earlier today, at least obliquely. There was last night in Pacific Palisades. They were taking so much water out of the hydrants to fight this fire that it tapped out the system's capability to deliver more water. And they're in the Palisades. They have these water tanks that are able to feed extra water into the hydrants in emergency situations. They even tapped out those as of
about I think three am this morning. Now the city which runs the water system there has been bringing in portable tankers to make sure that doesn't happen again. But yeah, yeah, essentially they're using every bit of water they can get their hands on.
All right, So appreciate the updates, and I'm sure we'll be leaning on you later today as well as into the next couple of days, but hopefully less because that means we're getting these fires under control.
David R.
Baker, Bloomberg News Energy and Climate reporter, joining us from our bureau in San Francisco. We're going to let you go, but we're going to continue with Mark onlof Hey.
Mark, your most recent column is about a fires exposing a one trillion dollar hole in home insurance. You write about homeowners in increasingly risky areas not being able to obtain adequate coverage as insurers flee the state to avoid losses. We're talking about places including Pacific Palisades. What's happening with the insurance market and what are these in these areas of California. What are these homeowners doing, What is the system and what is the program that they're tapping into.
So these houses that we were talking about have become kindling during these wildfires, and insurers noticed that years ago and started pulling out of the state. When they did that, they started raising prices and pulling out of the state or pulling out of these risky areas. When they did that, some homeowners, who you need to have insurance in order to get a mortgage, they turned to less regulated insurers,
which are more costly and more risky. A lot of people, though have turned to California's state run plan, the Fair Plan, which has tripled in size, tripled in its obligations over the past five years, almost four hundred and almost five hundred billion worth of potential losses there. If all of the homes in California went up, there would be five hundred billion dollars six billion dollars alone in the neighborhood
of Pacific Palisades. It's one of the heaviest users of the Fair Plan because State Farm and a lot of big insurers pulled out of Palisade Pacific Palisades a while back last year and said we don't want to ensure you anymore. So a lot of these people with very wealthy homes. I mean, the average house in that neighborhood is three and a half million dollars, which for California is maybe not that high, but it's still pretty high. A lot of these people are using the California Fair Plan.
California Fair Plan last count only had seven hundred million dollars in the bank. And so if just a percentage of the damages in Pacific Palisades and some of these other neighborhoods close by and Pasadena are going to fall on the fair plan, then fair Plans can have enough money, and then it's going to turn to other insurers in the state. And when I talk about California, you know, this is just one part of a national insurance crisis.
This is this is a problem that we're seeing in states all over the country.
Mark are redoomed. Just got about forty seconds. I say this because one of the stories Tim and I talked about yesterday JP Morgan quitting the Net zero Banking Alliance following city in ba A.
And this has to do with you know work.
They say they're going to work independently to advance low carbon technologies and support you know, clients engage in any transition, energy transition and decarbonization.
Forgive me, I'm rushing through.
But I mean I feel like, man, this feels like everybody's turning their back on climate change.
Well, we're watching these fires. Got about twenty five seconds.
Here, crazy cognitive dissonance.
Here.
We are not doomed. We are only doomed if we don't do anything about it. New York State could regulate the banks and try to make them stick to some of their I'm promises. We can all put political pressure on our elected officials to say, hey, look at what's happening. We're losing money in a chart on home insurance. There's a potential financial risk here. Please do something and just health risk and lifestylerist, please do something about this. We can do that.
Well, and everybody read Mark on Gloff's columns, because that'll that'll make you do it.
This is Bloomberg.
This is the Bloomberg Business Week Podcast. Listen live each weekday starting at two pm Eastern on Applecarflay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station. Just say Alexa, play Bloomberg eleven thirty.
Mac beout you let me drive you.
Oh no, no, no no, this is not a toy. Please, honey, please, I'll do the ravels. Let's wait, I want to drive.
It's a good question.
God. This is the Drive to the Clothes Quan sum thing well run on Bloomberg Radio.
All right, everybody, just under twenty minutes to go until we wrap up the trade on this Wednesday, January eighth. Yep, we are focused on the mark. It's got to say. It's as you heard from Charlie Pellett and Bill Maloney really kind of a quiet trade or little changes.
I should say, less you're a quantum computing company.
Unless you're a quantum computing company, right you are really taking it still trying to figure.
Out what to do when those companies do well.
It's you know, I am too like it's it sounds like there's going to be some collaboration with AI. I mean, AI is apparently going to be an application of quantum computing.
I've been doing some.
Searching around, but it basically is quantum mechanics, and it leverages or harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics.
If you use to solve really complex problems.
If you ask AI this question, does it eat itself?
That's a really come to meta.
Is that what happens?
Well?
The reason I say that is because doing this why just kidding, I don't know Getty computing. Carol's one of my decliners, down forty five percent right now.
Yeah, yeah, So it's kind of interesting, and I guess you know, it's going to use specific.
Hardware, there's going to be algorithms. It's still in development.
It's kind of all of our new world order, but it is interesting to see this group move in a big way, and some of it has to do with right what Jensen Wang had to say.
Yeah, Jensen said that quote, very useful quantum computers are likely decades away. Here's what he said. If you kind of said fifteen years for very useful quantum computers, that would probably be on the early side. If you said thirty, it's probably on the late side. He said this in a Q and A session during Video's analyst day. If you pick twenty, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it.
Yeah, all I know is AI, you know, which has been around for decades and then all of a sudden two years ago, bam. You know, you get a major development, or you get a major technological development or breakthrough, and then all of a sudden, you know, these things that maybe are going to be five, ten, twenty, or you know, years away all of a sudden, maybe are not so long away. So anyway, that group, though, it is taking a hit on those comments from Jensen, who obviously knows
this space and very involved. But it's something that we're going to watch play out. Having said that, I look at the S and P five hundred folks kind of an even split in the trade. So you've got about two hundred and sixty five names that are actually gaining ground in today's session, and you've got about two hundred and thirty seven to the downside. I will say one of the most read stories though on the Bloomberg today, it's about Bank of America creating a group of specialists
that cater to the ultra wealth. They are talking ten million dollars in above in assets, the bank looking to capitalize on the growing ranks of super rich clients needing complex financial products and advice. Our drive to the closed. Guest works in the wealth management space with us as Brook Bay. She's managing partner at Evans May Wealth. They've got about one point three billion in assets under management, and she joins us from Indiana.
Brook great to have you here with us.
Tell us about kind of the wealth management business, because it just feels like everybody and anybody has a specific division that's wealth management, the big bank, smaller firms. What are you seeing in terms of who actually is kind of your higher NETWT worth individual?
You know, it spreads the gamut.
High net worth individuals can come from all walks, all professions. We have a lot of tech entrepreneurs in addition to CEOs of publicly traded companies, doctors and lawyers who've been good stewards of their money. So really, you know, there are there are all kinds of all types of high net worth individuals who are clients.
What are they what are what are they telling you right now about how they're looking to grow their money, their asset allocation, what they're thinking about when it comes to where they want to put their money, because or do you even have these conversations with them or do do they just say to you, Hey, you do your thing, you're the professional. We're just going to give you the power.
A lot of it's the latter.
That said, everyone's everyone's interests are different. Some want to grow their wealth and they want to grow it to the maximum or willing to take the risks. Say you know, I worked hard for this money, I want to protect it and.
I want downside protection.
So you know, really, we try to customize portfolios to individuals and make sure that it meets their needs. One theme, though we see consistently across the board is that family is very important to these high net worth individuals and they want us to treat their kids and their grandchildren as if their ultra high net worth and help them with charitable gifting in addition to educating them on being
an investor and really all the things that come with that. Hey, I would say that's really the number one priority.
Playing to the b of a story, though, what's the kiddie worth? Like, what do we I mean, I'm curious about what is your typical ultra high net worth individual.
Are we talking about.
Two million, five million, ten million?
Is it you know, you said doctors? Is it former business owners?
What's typically the type of their portfolio or the amount the value of their portfolio that you're managing for them.
Our ultra high networth client is around twenty to one hundred million, and we have clients that are below those levels that are still high net worth, but we would consider the ultra high net worth and the more specific unique needs to be in the space of twenty million plus.
Are they all looking for outperformance? In other words, yeah, okay, stocks, bonds, all that good stuff, but they really want to be in the private markets. They want to be investing in startups, Like where is it going and where are you guys putting it for them?
Yeah, we're broadly diversifying. We have balanced portfolios for our high networth clients. We're equity biased, so we do have more inequities than a lot of other shops, but we balance that with fixed income. And then we've been incorporating
alternatives the last few years just to diversify. And as these individuals are at cocktail parties, their friends and associates are talking about these unique investments, and so it's something that we've spent a lot of time learning about and investigating and then offering that to our clients as well well.
In terms of alternatives, what's sort of top of mind for you in twenty twenty five when you know alternatives and compasses a lot. It could be real estate, it could be private equity, it could be venture capital, it could be private credit, it could be you know, many more things. What's alternatives to you?
We really like.
The private credit space.
It's been the buzzword for the last few years. And you know, private credit space to us, though, isn't your safe money. And I think a lot of investors don't understand the private credit space. Oftentimes in private credit, you know, they're investing in companies that aren't necessarily considered investment grade, and oftentimes these products can have some leverage associated with them and there's recency bias. You know, we haven't been
in an environment with a lot of defaults. I've done this for twenty five years, and if I look back to seven eight nine, where there were a lot of defaults, you know, a product that's scott lower quality companies and some leverage can really have a lot of downside. So we are incorporating private credit into the portfolios, but doing it for the client. That's a little bit more accepting of risk. In addition to that, we like senior retirement communities.
That's an area where we've been investing for clients and think that there's tremendous growth and upside there.
We just had guests on that represents the reed industry and he specifically, unfortunately at off air, we were asking kind of one of the hot areas and one of the areas you talked about in terms of real estate was specifically this senior housing area we're talking about. John Worreth, Executive VP of Research and Investor Outreach at AYREACH.
National Association of Reach. But that is certainly something he highlighted as well. Hey, Brook, Thank you so much. Happy New Year.
Brook May, managing partner at Evans Maywealthy've got about one point three billion in assets under management. Joining us from Indiana on this Wednesday.
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