Episode summary
Episode 352: Jennifer Marques of Oaktree - Asset Backed Finance and the Power of the Team
The Fiftyfaces Podcast
· · Hosts: Aoifinn Devitt · Guests: Jennifer Marques
Summary
Jennifer Marques argues that private credit is in a late-cycle period of dispersion, where weaker underwriting and looser diligence are showing up in the market, but she does not see evidence of a systemic problem. She says OakTree has spent more than 30 years investing through credit cycles and is focused on discipline, especially in asset-backed finance, where the key task is to assess both the underlying assets and the originators. In her framing, asset-backed finance is “lending to lenders,” and the opportunity is being created by banks reducing their footprint while private lenders step in.
She also explains why the market has changed since the global financial crisis: the problem then was not only structure but bad underlying collateral, whereas today the focus is on more diverse asset pools such as equipment leasing, transportation, digital infrastructure and data-center-related power. She sees these areas as offering attractive spread, stronger creditor protections and a useful diversification benefit for wealth and institutional clients.
Marques also speaks personally about resilience after losing her home in the January 7th, 2025 LA wildfires. She says the experience sharpened her focus on community, family and what matters most, and reinforced her belief that setbacks are best met by staying calm, learning quickly and continuing through adversity.
Key takeaways
- Marques says the current private credit wobble reflects late-cycle dispersion, not a systemic breakdown, and that underwriting discipline matters most.
- OakTree’s asset-backed finance thesis is built on banks retreating from the space while private lenders fill the financing gap.
- Marques says asset-backed finance offers shorter-duration, often self-amortizing exposures that can diversify corporate credit portfolios and fit semi-liquid client solutions.
- She argues the asset class is less exposed to AI-driven software disruption because it is tied to real-economy financing like equipment leasing and transportation.
- After the 2025 LA wildfires, Marques says resilience, community support and staying calm in crisis became even more central to how she works and leads.
Notable quotes
“Remember we're lending to the lenders is more important than ever”
“we're financing Main Street not Wall Street here”
“I think that critical legal lens is a very valuable asset in credit investing particularly in structured credit investing”
“The only way forward is through”
“don't be afraid to take risks to try new things particularly early in your career”
How the episode opens
If you take a step back, what's really going on in private credit right now is natural late stage in the cycle dispersion. Some of the recent wobbles or cracks are in our view really evidence of dropped underwriting standards or potentially lacks diligence by some. The types of things that you see when you have overreaching later in the cycle.
Now, obviously at Oak Tree, we've been investing through credit cycles for over 30 years. So we don't believe that this is systemic and in our view now that discipline and diligence in underwriting and then specifically for us in asset back that critical evaluation of who you are working with and spotting bad actors. Remember we're lending to the lenders is more important than ever.
I'm Ethan Devit and welcome to the 50 Faces podcast, a podcast committed to revealing the richness and diversity of the world of investment by focusing on its people and their stories. I'm joined today by Jennifer Marquez at Oakree Capital Management LP based in Los Angeles. She started her career as a lawyer.
Welcome, Jennifer. Thanks for joining me today.
Thanks, Ethan. It's great to be with you here today and thank you for having me on the show. — Well, we we don't have the video on for our audio listeners, but you are sitting there in lovely Los Angeles with sun streaming through your window at 8:00 in the morning. So, I'd love to know how you ended up in Los Angeles, how you ended up in finance. Take us through from the beginning if you could.
Now, for those listeners that may be less familiar with Oak Tree, we are a 30-year vintage global asset manager with a particular focus on performing and opportunistic credit investing. We've actually been investing in asset back finance and traded structured credit for decades.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- asset backed finance
- structured credit
- career resilience
- saas disruption effects
- private alternative lenders
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Oaktree
- Brookfield
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Fiftyfaces Podcast, this episode and its artwork belong to Aoifinn Devitt. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
