NYALT Episode 91
2023: A Cause for Distress
Discover groundbreaking insights from leading portfolio strategists as they unpack the powerful changes re-shaping commodities, portfolio diversification, and active management in the age of volatility. This high-impact episode features actionable ideas and real-world perspectives for institutional allocators, investment committee members, and senior finance leaders ready to capitalize on shifting cycles. Don’t miss your chance to learn how top-performing funds navigate supply shocks, inflation surges, and the realities of deeply uncorrelated return streams.
Featured Guests
Dominique Mielle
Author, Board Director, Former Senior Portfolio Manager – Canyon Capital
Dominique Mielle is a trailblazing Franco-American investor renowned for her two decades as partner and senior portfolio manager at Canyon Capital, where she managed billions in distressed debt, corporate securitizations, and had wide-ranging sector expertise from transportation to consumer products. Named one of the "50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds" by the Hedge Fund Journal and Ernst & Young, Dominique’s career has broken major ground in a male-dominated industry—shaping the direction of one of the world’s largest hedge funds and leading critical restructuring and bankruptcy assignments, including her directorship at PG&E during a landmark Chapter 11 process. She is the author of the acclaimed memoir “Damsel in Distressed,” the first hedge fund memoir by a woman, celebrated for both its wit and deep industry analysis. Dominique’s voice influences finance, diversity, and innovation discussions through published work in Forbes, the Financial Times, and Graham & Dodd’s Security Analysis. She holds an MBA from Stanford and a Master in Management from HEC Paris.
Marc Schneider
Founder, Twelve Lions Capital; Former Managing Director – Avenue Capital Group
Marc Schneider brings a rich, thirty-plus-year legacy across investment management, restructuring, and advisory at the highest levels of finance. As founder of Twelve Lions Capital, he delivers specialized consulting, litigation support, and asset management services to institutional clients, drawing on deep expertise in complex cross-border restructurings and turnaround strategy. Marc spent more than a decade as Managing Director at Avenue Capital Group, where he led investments in over fifty European distressed situations, growing the company’s regional AUM to $5 billion and shepherding teams through multiple credit cycles. His early career included director roles at Citi’s Investment Banking division and prior legal practice at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, bringing a multidimensional strategic perspective to every engagement. Marc’s impact is felt through his role on industry management committees and his regular contributions to the New York finance and investment roundtable community. He earned a BS from Lehigh University and a JD, magna cum laude, from University of Miami School of Law.
Key Insights From This Episode
Commodities Offer True Diversification
Commodities generally display minimal correlation with equities and bonds, making their inclusion a robust way to reduce portfolio volatility—especially during inflationary shock cycles and geopolitical events.
Active Management Amplifies Alpha in Commodities
Passive long-only strategies often miss critical opportunities, while skilled active managers can exploit roll yield, term structure, and sector-specific dislocations to outperform benchmarks.
The 60/40 Portfolio Needs Rethinking
The classic 60/40 mix isn’t bulletproof against simultaneous drawdowns in stocks and bonds. Commodities act as the "crisis convexity" the modern allocator needs, particularly when correlation regimes break down.
AI and Electrification Redraw the Commodity Map
Growth in artificial intelligence and grid electrification is fundamentally reshaping demand for base metals like copper and nickel—fueling opportunities for bespoke commodity exposure.
Supply Chains, Regulation, and Policy Drive New Cycles
Physical bottlenecks from deglobalization, evolving regulations (like EU deforestation on cocoa), and government intervention now exert greater influence on commodity risk premiums and trade opportunities.
Crisis Events Reward the Nimble and Prepared
Every major market crisis (’08, ’20) is characterized by commodity volatility spikes, sharp increases in asset correlation, and rich opportunities for trend-following and tactical strategies.
Access the Full Conversation
Unlock deeper strategic insight by accessing the full podcast audio and downloading our exclusive insights deck. This episode is essential listening for investment committee members and financial services professionals who need actionable ideas for portfolio resilience, uncorrelated returns, and navigating today’s inflationary and regulatory challenges.
Soundbites Worth Saving
"Being a distressed investor is very much like playing chess—every move in the capital structure counts, and the game is won by understanding more than just the business itself.”
— Dominique Mielle
"The very thing that makes a small hedge fund nimble and able to outperform, also makes it prone to huge survival risk. In distressed investing, scale is both a weapon and a vulnerability.”
— Marc Schneider
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