Critical thinking

Critical Thinking is a Mercer series about the investment questions sitting behind portfolio decisions. Its centre of gravity is institutional finance. The show often starts with a simple framing problem, then adds layers until the trade-offs are visible. Recent episodes have focused heavily on private markets, private debt, and the infrastructure required to make those markets more usable. Private credit is treated as a growing allocation area with real opportunities and real constraints. BDCs, interval funds, redemption queues, software loans, and contagion risk are discussed without turning the topic into alarmism. Trade finance gets similar treatment. The conversation moves from instruments such as letters of credit, working capital loans, and invoice discounting into the portfolio case for stable cash flows, short maturities, low correlation, and a complexity premium. Retirement systems are another recurring concern. One episode compares private investment access in US defined contribution plans with defined benefit plans and Australian superannuation funds, using that contrast to ask why participant portfolios are changing now. The show also pays attention to the less glamorous machinery of markets. Private market data, lagged information, inconsistent taxonomies, and the need for higher-quality performance detail across GPs are presented as allocation issues, not back-office trivia. Its leadership conversations broaden the lens, bringing in senior figures to talk about private markets, financial data, access, regulation, and the year ahead. There is also a strand on pension communication, where understanding and trust matter as much as technical design. The pacing is measured. The appeal comes from clean distinctions: risk versus return, access versus transparency, innovation versus governance, and opportunity versus implementation burden. Critical Thinking is best for listeners who want finance explained at working depth, with fewer slogans and more structure.