Milken Conference: Key takeaways from Mathias Burghardt

1.    You have just come back from Milken, where Ardian was participating for the first time. What are your key takeaways? 

This was our first time at the Milken Institute Global Conference – one of the world’s most renowned gatherings, particularly from a US perspective – and it was a real success. The event gave us the ideal forum to meet all our American stakeholders: our strong investor community, public authorities, industrial companies and peers. Their reaction confirmed that our vision resonates powerfully in the United States.

My second takeaway is the perception of Ardian, which is very positive. 

Conversations with attendees highlighted how unique and distinctive that proposition is.

Finally, Europe is making a genuine comeback. A recurring theme throughout the week was a renewed interest in Europe as an investment destination, an innovation-focused market and an attractive diversification opportunity for portfolios. Here too, we are very well positioned.

2.     What was the mood among attendees regarding the macro-outlook?

The mood at Milken was relatively reassured. We have just come through an extraordinary decade of growth, almost no inflation and full employment – an expansion fueled by deficits and debt worldwide that everyone now concedes is unsustainable.

Indeed, volatility has eased, the Volatility Index (VIX) is back to normal levels, and while we are clearly in a different cycle, investors are gravitating toward safe havens and, above all, diversification rather than bracing for a severe downturn.

3.    At your panel discussion on energy and infrastructure, you underlined the importance of diversification, both in portfolios and in energy. How was this received?

In this new era, the old certainties have gone. When growth, markets and employment were all expanding, assumptions went largely untested; but the shocks unleashed by the Ukraine war, the energy crunch and trade disruptions have revealed how much the experts missed.

With visibility so limited, diversification is king. The days of relying on a single, lowest-cost supplier are over. The recent blackout in Spain is a timely reminder of how companies need multiple options to stay resilient. Diversification: that was the point I made on my panel, and it clearly resonated with the room.

4.    Ahead of the conference, you contributed an article to Milken’s Power of Ideas series, arguing that asset managers are uniquely placed to drive sustainable build-out of AI infrastructure. Infrastructure was clearly at the top of the agenda at Milken this year – why is it attracting so much investor attention?

It is one of the fastest-growing asset classes and is extremely appealing for investors because of its resilience and its low correlation with traditional asset classes. Unsurprisingly, every large private equity firm now wants a foothold. 

Interest is strong from all geographies including from US investors, who account for a large share of commitments to our flagship fund, which we are now finalizing.
We are a leader in both direct infrastructure with around $36 billion of assets under management, and our Secondaries team is also very strong in infrastructure as well. That leaves Ardian exceptionally well positioned to benefit from two of the big themes driving the market: the energy transition and the build-out of digital and AI infrastructure.
 

5.    What was the most surprising thing you heard at the conference?

The most surprising session was the on‑stage conversation between Mike Milken and Elon Musk. Controversial though he is, Musk offered a visionary view of humanity’s future, and one remark in particular stuck with me: he described death as “the loss of information.” I hold a different opinion on many of his conclusions, but his outlook was certainly striking and worth hearing.