My Conversation with Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield

The unpopular rule behind Brookfield’s trillion-dollar empire: protect downside, compound durability, and ignore the crowd.

In this conversation:
25 years of change: passive flows, privatization, and de-globalization reshaped where returns live
Where value hides now: data centers, low‑carbon transition, and repatriated manufacturing
Rates, risk, and debt: how Brookfield underwrites in a higher cost-of-capital world
Private markets and insurance: why annuities and balance-sheet design matter to compounding
Process over prediction: a 6-step decision cadence, accountability, and post-mortems that actually teach
Talent systems: how Brookfield trains investors to think in cycles, not quarters

what you’ll learn:
the 1 rule that prevents permanent loss (and why it beats forecasting)
a simple map to today’s real assets: where durability and cash yield stack
how to underwrite with higher rates without missing dislocations
the 3-part flywheel behind Brookfield’s insurance and private-markets engine
a repeatable process: cycles, checklists, and post‑mortems that compound judgment

Bruce Flatt is CEO of Brookfield, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, overseeing more than a trillion dollars in assets across real estate, infrastructure, renewables, transition, and private equity.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:54 Changes in Investing Over the Past 25 Years
2:50 How Private Enterprise Has Built Our Tech Infrastructure
5:07 Implications and Opportunities of Passive Investing
9:55 Advantages of Private Companies
13:23 Three Investment Themes
15:58 Winners in Digitalization
17:32 Application of Artificial Intelligence in Businesses
22:30 Transition to Low-Carbon Energy
26:11 Future of Data Centers
28:19 De-globalization of Industry
30:46 Implications of Manufacturing Repatriation
31:58 Long-term Prospects for America
33:14 Future of the U.S. Economy
34:26 Changes in Real Estate
38:44 Approach to Risk and Debt
40:12 Impact of Interest Rates
43:11 Managing Market Dislocations
44:54 Long-term Investing Strategy
47:31 History and Future of Brookfield
50:19 Exploration of Private Markets and Insurance
51:12 Investment Decision Process
53:06 Introduction to Annuities
55:27 Expansion into Other Insurance Businesses
57:42 Understanding Brookfield’s Structure
1:02:45 Talent and People Management at Brookfield
1:05:22 Focus on Downside Protection
1:07:27 Accountability in Investment Decisions
1:08:56 Understanding Investment Cycles
1:10:38 Learning and Training in the Organization
1:11:30 Postmortem Analysis of Investments
1:13:38 Consideration of Geopolitical Risks
1:16:43 Investing with Own Capital First

Shane Parrish
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