How I Invest with David Weisburd

E416: Ares Investor on Data Centers, Investing Moats & Lessons Learned

28 snips
Aug 14, 2026
Guest
Joel Holsinger
Joel Holsinger, Co-Head of Ares Alternative Credit and Pathfinder portfolio manager who helps steer charity-focused carried interest, discusses why scale is the biggest moat in private markets. He explains why data centers and AI infrastructure look like contractual cash-flow assets. He also covers reputation, downside protection, team-building with Kaizen, and linking institutional investing to large-scale philanthropy.
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INSIGHT

Data Centers Behave Like Net Lease Credit Assets

  • Data centers function like net-lease assets because hyperscalers (Meta, Google, Amazon) pay long-term leases that make cash-on-cash returns primary.
  • That lease structure shifts the investment toward credit-like contractual cash flows rather than pure equity multiple bets.
ADVICE

Prefer Portfolios And Contractual Cash Flows Over Single Bets

  • Invest in diversified portfolios of assets (multiple data centers) rather than single-site bets to get the protection diversity offers.
  • Prioritise contractual cash flows in structures like leases to improve downside resilience.
INSIGHT

Reputation Converts Into Deal Flow Advantage

  • Reputation and brand drive first-call access to large transactions; being the trusted counterparty reduces competition.
  • Joel wants the team to be the party that gets called at the end of a process: that's the valuable 'at bat.'
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