Interview - Jim Coulter

The co-CEO of private equity firm TPG Capital LP feels good about the global economy, but wonders, Where’s the inflation?

- Devin Banerjee

What is your portfolio telling you about the state of economies around the world?

With 200-plus companies, we have front-row seats for the world of business. And right now the show seems to be progressing pretty well. If anything, my concerns are that the market seems not to have concerns in a world that is geopolitically and socially at an interesting point. I’m also still scratching my head on the state of inflation, where on one hand we have asset inflation in many parts of the economy while the general inflation measures reflect average levels of consumer price inflation. Those seem at odds.

How did the major elections across Europe this year affect your outlook for the continent?

Europe has, in our view, outperformed over the past few years. And the recent elections, which have swung a bit more toward stability after the swing away from stability at Brexit, have been encouraging. Catalonia at the moment is an interesting question, but elsewhere on the continent, the outlook seems positive.