Andrew Milgram

These are challenged businesses.

The risk is real.

And so when we insert ourselves into a company or a collection of assets and we use the rights and remedies that are afforded us, we're both using those rights and remedies to drive value, but also contain risk.

And you have to work on both legs of that.

And so it is risk-adjusted return.

So distressed assets, you said it earlier, and it's a line we use all the time.

It's a full contact sport.

You have to be willing to engage.

If you're investing in distressed assets and you are not taking an active role in both the financial and operational restructuring, you're just taking weird and unquantifiable risk.

that you are not participating in.

I would argue it's almost like investment malpractice to invest in a distressed asset, not taking an active operational role in addition to the financial restructuring role.

Well, a good relationship with anybody is about respecting their needs and constraints.

One of the things that I think we're really good at is understanding the needs and constraints of our counterparty, whether they're a bank, a borrower, a sponsor, a taxi driver, anyone.

We spend a lot of time thinking about the other guy's needs.

I tell everybody at Marblegate, I tell my kids, it's easy to know what you want.

You look in the mirror and tell it to yourself every morning.

The real exercise, the real effort has to be focused on understanding the other person.

And that understanding can come both from conversation, and that's a easy and direct way.

I think it's an important way.

You always have to put boots on the ground.