(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. reported earnings that beat estimates and raised its quarterly dividend, as its results were boosted by strong fundraising and capital deployment. 

The Toronto-based firm posted distributable earnings of $586 million in the fourth quarter, or 36 cents per share, according to a statement Wednesday. That beat the 34 cents per share average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. 

The firm ended the year with $457 billion of fee-bearing assets, up 4% from September, and now manages $916 billion in total. It aims to reach $1 trillion of fee-bearing assets by 2028.

The stock fell 0.9% in premarket trading in New York.

Brookfield Asset Management spun out of parent company Brookfield Corp. in late 2022 to manage its fee-bearing assets, in a bid to appeal to shareholders seeking to invest in its asset management business without exposure to its real estate and other so-called real assets. The new company charted an ambitious course, setting lofty goals for assets under management and broadening its product offerings.

But the move coincided with rising rates and post-pandemic challenges in its real estate business, its second-largest segment. Brookfield sees the current property turmoil as an opportunity, and is trying to raise a new $15 billion real estate fund. The firm said Wednesday that it is completing a first close of $8 billion for its fifth flagship real estate fund.

“We had strong performance in our first year following our listing,” President Connor Teskey said in the statement. “We raised $93 billion of capital which, combined with the approximately $50 billion anticipated upon the closing of the American Equity Investment Life insurance account, brings the total to $143 billion.” 

Brookfield had set a target of raising $150 billion. The firm garnered $10 billion in the first close of its second global transition fund. In December, Brookfield closed a record $30 billion infrastructure fund. 

Read More: Brookfield Wants $15 Billion for Real Estate Bet After Stumbles

Over the past two years, higher interest rates have crimped fundraising and dealmaking for alternative asset managers. In a letter to shareholders, Teskey and Brookfield Chief Executive Officer Bruce Flatt sounded an optimistic tone on rates over the next two years. 

“It appears that central banks have been successful in dealing with inflation and that interest rates will be going lower around the world in 2024 and 2025,” they wrote. “If this occurs, capital market activity and stock markets should be strong.”

With improving liquidity and record levels of dry powder on the sidelines, “we expect a very busy period of transaction activity in the next few years, and valuations for real assets should respond accordingly,” the executives said. The firm expects to launch several products to grow different parts of the business, they added.

Last week, Anuj Ranjan took over as CEO of its private equity division as the firm seeks to expand the unit in a tough period for the broader buyout industry. Ranjan replaced Cyrus Madon, a Brookfield veteran.

Brookfield has created a financial infrastructure group focused on opportunities in digital infrastructure and has tasked the former Worldpay CEO Ron Kalifa to lead it.

--With assistance from Erin Fuchs.

(Updates with share price, additional context starting in fourth paragraph.)

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