CFA Institute Podcast 'Enterprising Investor': Financial Historian Mark J. Higgins Discusses Speculative Supply Chain Risks in Private Credit
This episode features Mark J. Higgins, a financial historian, investment adviser, and author of 'Investing in U.S. Financial History', in conversation with host Kevin Max. Higgins argues that speculation may be driven less by irrational investors than by rational participants whose incentives increasingly align around keeping capital flowing. The program explores how these speculative supply chains form, why risk becomes harder to see as they mature, and how patterns that fueled the Global Financial Crisis may now be emerging in private equity and private credit.
CFA Institute's flagship podcast, 'Enterprising Investor', released a new episode on October 1, 2026, titled 'Mark J. Higgins: Are Speculative Supply Chains Fueling Private Credit?'. The guest is Mark J. Higgins, CFA, CFP®, a financial historian, investment adviser, and author of 'Investing in U.S. Financial History: Understanding the Past to Forecast the Future'. The host is Kevin Max, editor of Enterprising Investor.
According to the publisher's show notes, Higgins presents a core argument in this episode: financial bubbles may be driven less by irrational investors than by rational participants whose incentives increasingly align around keeping capital flowing. The discussion explores how these 'speculative supply chains' form, why risk becomes harder to identify as these chains mature, and whether patterns similar to those that helped fuel the Global Financial Crisis are now emerging in private equity and private credit markets.
For professional readers interested in alternative asset risks and financial history cycles, this episode offers a perspective on the current private credit boom through the lens of incentive structures. While no full transcript is provided, the guest's authority in financial history and CFA Institute's standing as a definitive program for the investment management industry make this discussion worth listening to for understanding potential systemic risk structures.