Todd Barlow
Person
Todd Barlow is the Chief Executive Officer of Washington H. Soul Pattinson, an Australian investment company listed since 1903. He is known for leading the company’s long-term, permanent-capital investment strategy.
What Todd Barlow has said on podcasts
31 statements
- on Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company LimitedPositiveSep 14, 2026· Equity Mates Investing Podcast
SolPats has approximately $16 billion market capitalization and ranks within the ASX 50.
“Today we've got about 85,000 shareholders, about a $16 billion market cap, which places us inside the top ASX 50.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 5:06
SolPats invests patiently, with a disciplined long-term approach.
“We are patient, long-term, disciplined investors.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 5:52
SolPats seeks portfolio assets that protect capital during downturns.
“We're looking for a portfolio that has defensive qualities, so it protects capital in downtimes.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 6:16
SolPats has increased its dividend annually for 27 years.
“in the last 27 years, we've been growing the dividend every year”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 7:07
SolPats dividend compound annual growth exceeded 10% over 27 years.
“in the last 27 years, the compound annual growth rate's been over 10%.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 7:15
SolPats aims to continue increasing its dividend.
“our strategy is to aim to continue to grow the dividend.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 8:15
SolPats distributes approximately 75% of generated cash as dividends.
“we're paying out about 75% of the cash that we generate.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 8:28
SolPats’ permanent capital structure avoids redemption risk and liquidity needs.
“we don't have any redemption risk. We don't have liquidity needs”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 9:54
Permanent capital enables SolPats to pursue illiquidity premiums and long-term investments.
“we can take long-term views, we can capture that premium for illiquidity”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 10:41
SolPats allocates capital opportunistically as investment opportunities change.
“we go where the opportunities are and that evolves over time.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 12:11
SolPats’ portfolio is regenerated as superior investment ideas displace existing holdings.
“the best ideas win out. So you get this nice healthy regeneration of the portfolio.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 13:44
US private credit contains areas of concern after substantial inflows.
“there are some areas of concern”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 16:05
Private-credit inflows have worsened pricing and lending terms through competitive deployment pressure.
“they've sharpened the prices and loosened the terms because they want to get money out the door”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 16:19
SolPats uses underlying equity as a buffer and margin of safety in private credit.
“we think about the equity as being the buffer or the margin of safety.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 18:08
SolPats’ private-credit portfolio returned 13–14% annually over four or five years.
“Our portfolio's been doing 13 to 14% returns for the last 4 or 5 years”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 18:55
Large-cap stocks are relatively well priced while smaller mid-caps have been left behind.
“large cap stocks are quite well priced, but they're leaving behind some of the smaller mid-cap stocks”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 20:39
Smaller and mid-cap stocks offer attractive value opportunities.
“there is some good value at that smaller end.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 21:03
SolPats holds just under $3 billion in cash.
“cash has certainly increased a lot. I mean, we're sitting on about just shy of $3 billion in cash at the moment.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 21:31
Cash represents approximately 20% of SolPats’ total portfolio.
“About 20%.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 21:40
Fixed income is currently an attractive place to deploy capital.
“fixed income is actually a good place to deploy.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 22:04
Liquidity enables SolPats to buy equities after market selloffs make them cheap.
“it'll be the liquidity that gives us the opportunity to strike when things get sold off and become really cheap.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 22:54
Energy demand is a strong long-term investment theme.
“energy is a really strong thematic”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 23:46
Asian coal demand is expected to continue growing.
“in Asia, it's still coal and, and continues to be coal, not only holding their coal demand but actually growing it”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 24:12
Coal will remain safe and demanded by Asian countries for the next 20 years.
“for the next 20 years coal will be very safe and certainly demanded by our Asian neighbours.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 24:39
Coal prices fell to $50 per tonne before rising to $400 per tonne.
“coal got down to $50 a tonne and then rocketed up to $400 a tonne.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 25:34
SolPats’ industrial property asset class generated approximately 20% IRR for 15–20 years.
“It was probably a 20% IRR asset class for 15 to 20 years.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 28:19
AI will be transformative, but its ultimate investment winners are currently difficult to identify.
“AI will come and it will be amazing, and it's just really hard to determine now who the ultimate winners will be.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 30:32
Energy is a relatively low-regret way to invest in AI-related growth.
“energy is a low regret trade.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 31:17
Cloud-based data centres retain industrial-property downside support if they fail.
“there's still an industrial property sort of backstop.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 31:41
Europe may offer more distressed investment opportunities than the United States.
“we think that Europe's got maybe a little bit more distress.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 36:45
Todd Barlow does not expect SolPats to invest in Bitcoin because he does not understand it.
“I can't see that happening. It's not something I understand.”
Open the episode · A century of compounding: inside Soul Patts' permanent capital with Todd BarlowListen at 37:28
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
14 episodes featuring Todd Barlow
The Bulwark Daily
Trump’s China pageantry meets Alaska’s populist test
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Sep 24, 2026 · 1h 20m
Fearless with Jason Whitlock
Panel questions whether 2024 quarterbacks face a historic collapse
The episode tests whether injuries, uneven starts, and leadership concerns signal a failed quarterback class or premature judgment.
Sep 24, 2026 · 1h 16m
The Bulwark Daily
Trump’s Iran messaging collides with AI and education fights
The episode connects strained war messaging, attacks on press access, AI policy uncertainty, and school-choice pressures to broader questions of political accountability.
Sep 21, 2026 · 1h 10m
Pod Save America
Democrats see a midterm opening as Trump’s record strains
The episode tests whether Democratic gains reflect a durable backlash or an overly optimistic reading of uneven races and voter concerns.
Sep 18, 2026 · 1h 30m
Receipts with Catherine Rampell
Canada Turns Away From Trump as Institutions Face Pressure
The episode connects Canada’s realignment with Europe to a broader warning about inflation, central-bank independence, disappearing tax data, and weakened accountability.
Sep 18, 2026 · 57 min
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump’s agenda meets resistance at home and abroad
The episode connects court rulings, congressional accountability, economic frustration, and damaged alliances to the broader struggle over American power.
Sep 16, 2026 · 34 min
Equity Mates Investing Podcast
Soul Patts bets patience beats prediction
Todd Barlow explains how permanent capital lets Soul Patts hold cash, resist crowded private markets, and pursue long-term opportunities without fund-life pressure.
Sep 14, 2026 · 40 min
Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
Trump’s Canada fight tests America’s alliances and economy
The episode argues that escalating pressure on Canada could damage the deeply integrated North American economy while weakening U.S. alliances and domestic capacity.
Sep 8, 2026 · 51 min
The Bulwark Daily
Republican senators confront the consequences of enabling Trump
The discussion tests whether Republican criticism can matter after lawmakers have helped install and sustain an administration they now question.
Sep 3, 2026 · 1h 14m
The Bulwark Daily
ICE arrests and Trump’s midterm machine face scrutiny
The episode connects expanding immigration enforcement, Republican electoral planning, and Florida corruption allegations to the broader risks of Trump-era governance.
Aug 27, 2026 · 1h 21m
The Rewatchables
Apollo 13 turns procedural filmmaking into emotional history
The discussion explains why a 1995 space drama still feels unusually authentic, generous, and emotionally durable while confronting the loss of national ambition it quietly records.
Aug 25, 2026 · 1h 58m
The Bill Simmons Podcast
Chesney bets on culture as college football churns
The episode connects sports fandom’s enduring appeal with a college football system increasingly shaped by transfer-market volatility and NIL economics.
Aug 24, 2026 · 2h 21m
The Shawn Ryan Show
SEAL operator turns combat trauma into a mission of recovery
Alex West connects elite military service, combat loss, suicidal crisis, and sobriety to his later work helping veterans and first responders heal.
Aug 20, 2026 · 4h 35m
The Daily
Mangione’s plea tests the limits of double jeopardy
Mangione’s federal admission could either resolve one case while imperiling his defense, or help block a separate New York prosecution.
Aug 17, 2026 · 29 min