Podcast | Episode #2: CLOs: No Credit Contagion | Michael Kao of Kao Family Office / Akanthos Capital

Michael Kao has been in the investment business for 30+ years, with extensive experience analyzing and investing across a wide range of markets and asset classes — from commodities and credit to convertible arbitrage, capital structure and event-driven strategies, and distressed debt and equity.

He began his career in the early 1990s in the commodities unit at Goldman Sachs in New York. After Goldman, he joined Canyon Capital Advisors, where he was a partner and co-founder of the Canyon Arbitrage Fund. In 2002, he founded Akanthos Capital Management, a long/short value fund focused on opportunities driven by volatility, equity, and credit structure dynamics, with an emphasis on convertible and capital structure arbitrage, as well as event-driven investing.

Mike stopped actively managing external capital in 2019 and now invests primarily through his family office while writing about markets and the economy on his Substack Kaoboy Musings.

FOLLOW THE LINK to read Michael’s detailed write-up, examples, and his full thoughts on what we discussed in this episode (MUST-SEE).

Disclaimer: This interview talks about some Idiosyncratic positions that Michael currently holds and actively trades. He uses the examples to illustrate his broader points about CLO structural resilience. This is NOT investment advice, and people are reminded to do their own homework.

Get full access to DEBT SERIOUS at debtserious.substack.com/subscribe