Alan Waxman

CEO and Co-Founder of Sixth Street, a global investment firm.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

The modern private capital industry's massive scale is a direct, structural consequence of post-2008 financial regulations that limited the activities of traditional banks.

A successful investment strategy requires flexibility to move across asset classes and the capacity to execute billion-dollar-plus deals, often in partnership with major corporations and sports franchises.

The 'factory model' of rapid capital deployment that became popular around 2018 has led to widespread overpayment for assets, creating a significant 'stuck asset' problem for many investment firms.

While AI presents a major investment opportunity and a tool for enhancing business, its potential to cause widespread job losses through productivity gains is a serious, under-discussed societal threat.

The wealth management channel represents the next major frontier for capital formation in private markets, with allocations expected to grow five-fold or more in the coming decade.

Podcast consensus on Waxman

Points of consensus

▶Alan Waxman consistently emphasizes the massive growth of private capital markets, from approximately $2 trillion before the Global Financial Crisis to $14-15 trillion today, driven by post-crisis regulations like Dodd-Frank and Basel III which constrained traditional banks.Apr 2026

▶His investment philosophy, rooted in his time at Goldman Sachs' Special Situations Group, centers on providing large-scale, flexible, and creative capital solutions, as evidenced by major deals with entities like Airbnb, Spotify, and Real Madrid.Apr 2026

▶He frequently references the historical significance of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act and its 1999 repeal, arguing the repeal was a response to competitive pressures from European banks and led to a significant increase in leverage within the US financial system before the 2008 crisis.Apr 2026

▶Sixth Street's ability to execute complex, billion-dollar-plus investments across various asset classes is a core tenet of its strategy, leveraging a large, flexible $30 billion TAL fund that sits across all its platforms.

Points of debate

▶Waxman critiques the 'factory model' of investing that he claims became prominent in 2018, arguing this trend of rapid fundraising and deployment has led to overpaying for assets, creating 'stuck assets' on many firms' balance sheets.Apr 2026

▶While acknowledging that many private Business Development Companies (BDCs) are experiencing redemption requests exceeding their quarterly limits, he does not currently believe this poses a systemic risk, a potentially debatable position given market anxieties.Apr 2026

▶He expresses significant concern that the economic transition driven by AI will cause major job losses, a topic he believes is not being adequately addressed by policymakers and business leaders.

▶Sixth Street has deliberately chosen not to raise capital through perpetual private BDC vehicles, a strategic decision that contrasts with a major industry trend of targeting the wealth channel with such products.Apr 2026

Key themes

▶The Post-GFC Reshaping of FinanceApr 2026

Waxman provides a historical narrative of American finance, centered on the repeal of Glass-Steagall, the subsequent leverage build-up, the 2008 crisis, and the resulting regulations (Dodd-Frank, Basel III). He argues these regulations constrained banks and directly fueled the explosive growth of the private capital and private credit markets, which grew from $2 trillion and $500 billion to $14-15 trillion and $2 trillion, respectively.

For analysts, this theme highlights that the current private capital landscape is not just a market cycle phenomenon but a structural shift born from post-2008 regulation, suggesting its scale and influence are likely to be durable.

▶Sixth Street's Flexible, Large-Scale Capital Strategy

Waxman details his firm's distinctive approach, which avoids rigid fund mandates in favor of flexible, creative solutions. Sixth Street positions itself as one of the few firms capable of consistently writing billion-dollar checks, exemplified by its $1B financings for Spotify and Airbnb, and its joint venture to renovate Real Madrid's stadium. This is enabled by a $30 billion cross-platform fund (TAL) and a focus on partnering with large corporations and asset originators.

This strategy allows Sixth Street to pursue complex, opportunistic deals that don't fit into traditional private equity or credit buckets, giving it a competitive advantage in sourcing unique, large-scale opportunities.

▶The Maturation and Risks of Private MarketsApr 2026

Waxman discusses the evolution of the private capital industry, noting the shift toward raising capital from the wealth channel as institutional growth slowed. He identifies the 2018 emergence of a 'factory model' of investing as a negative turning point that led to overvalued 'stuck assets'. He also comments on the current stress in perpetual BDCs, which are facing redemption requests above their limits, though he currently downplays the systemic risk.

Investors should note Waxman's cautious view on recent industry trends, suggesting a need for greater diligence regarding asset valuations from the 2021-2022 vintage and the liquidity terms of retail-focused private market products.

▶AI as a Transformative Force and Societal ChallengeApr 2026

Waxman views AI as a technology that will disrupt every industry, forcing companies to adapt or face severe competitive pressure. While Sixth Street is a heavy internal user of LLMs and sees AI as a tool to eventually quantify risk in private investments, Waxman is also vocally concerned about the societal impact, particularly the significant job losses he foresees from productivity gains, a topic he feels is under-discussed.

This dual perspective indicates a leader who is simultaneously capitalizing on a technological trend while being acutely aware of its potential negative externalities, suggesting a long-term, systemic view of risk and opportunity.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Not enough data for timeline

Changes over time

Pre-2008

As part of Goldman Sachs' Special Situations Group (SSG), Waxman ran a principal investing business that managed up to $25B and successfully protected capital through the 2008 crisis. He also started a middle-market direct lending business there that has since grown to over $50B.

2009-2010

Founds Sixth Street, initially in a 'firm within a firm' structure with TPG. This period coincides with the passage of Basel III and Dodd-Frank, which he identifies as the key regulatory catalysts for the massive expansion of private capital markets.

2016-2017

Leads Sixth Street through several landmark deals, including a $1 billion convertible debt financing for Spotify (2016) and the co-founding of data center company AirTrunk (2017), which was later sold for approximately $16 billion.

2018

Identifies this year as a pivotal moment when the 'factory model' of investing—characterized by rapid fundraising and deployment—became prominent in the private capital industry, leading to what he now views as overpayment for assets.

2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sixth Street, along with Silver Lake, provides a crucial $1 billion financing to Airbnb in the form of a loan with attached warrants, demonstrating the firm's ability to provide large-scale capital during periods of market stress.

Present

Focuses on themes like partnering with large corporations, investing in 'wealth tech', and navigating a market with 'stuck assets' and stressed BDCs. He also speaks frequently about the disruptive potential of AI and its societal implications.

Suggested prompts

How did Alan Waxman's experience navigating the 2008 crisis within Goldman Sachs' Special Situations Group directly influence Sixth Street's flexible, cross-asset class investment mandate? &nearr;Analyze the apparent contradiction between Waxman's bullish outlook on the growth of private capital in the wealth channel and his firm's deliberate decision to avoid perpetual BDC structures. &nearr;What specific market conditions or events would need to occur for Waxman's concern about BDC redemption gates to escalate from a contained issue to a systemic risk? &nearr;How does Waxman's critique of the 'factory model' of investing from 2018 onward inform Sixth Street's current strategy for sourcing and evaluating its 450-500 potential deals each month? &nearr;

Key concepts

Private Capital Markets 2 ep Sixth Street Investment Strategy 1 ep Glass-Steagall Act 1 ep Global Financial Crisis (GFC) 2 ep Artificial Intelligence (AI) 2 ep Goldman Sachs Special Situations Group (SSG) 1 ep Wealth Management Channel 2 ep Sports Franchise Investing 1 ep Business Development Companies (BDCs) 1 ep Financial Regulation (Dodd-Frank, Basel III) 1 ep

Notable quotes

“private capital from pre-GFC to post-GFC is about $2 trillion pre-GFC. It's grown to around $14, $15 trillion.”

Alan Waxman · What 100 Years of American Finance Tells Us About Today

“We're one of the few handful of firms in the world that can consistently write billion-dollar-plus checks across asset classes.”

Alan Waxman · The Investment Firm That Can 'Do Anything' | Sixth Street CEO Alan Waxman

“once the productivity gains start to come, there's obviously going to be job losses and just the transition to sort of, you know, remobilize capital and just how's that going to work? How's that going to work with the real economy? I don't think enough people are talking about it.”

Alan Waxman · The Investment Firm That Can 'Do Anything' | Sixth Street CEO Alan Waxman

“we're, I think the only principal investing group, maybe there's one other that didn't lose money in 2008 on a lot of capital. Now we didn't, we didn't make any returns, but we protect the capital.”

Alan Waxman · The Investment Firm That Can 'Do Anything' | Sixth Street CEO Alan Waxman

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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