Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.’s earnings rose in the fourth quarter as it wrapped up a record year of fundraising that has given the firm more than US$90 billion to invest.

The Canadian alternative asset manager reported distributable earnings of US$569 million, or 35 cents a share, up 6 per cent from the prior year. It’s the first quarterly report for Brookfield Asset as a public company after it was spun out of parent Brookfield Corp. in December.

The company raised a record US$93 billion in capital last year. “Our fundraising outlook remains strong,” Chief Executive Officer Bruce Flatt and President Connor Teskey said in a letter to shareholders. “In 2023, we expect to have three flagship funds in the market, along with several complementary perpetual strategies and other long-term funds.”

Brookfield Corp. spun off a 25 per cent stake in the division in an effort to gain a higher valuation by separating the money-management business from its own investment capital. Brookfield Asset managed US$418 billion in fee-bearing capital at the end of December across asset classes including real estate, infrastructure, credit, private equity and renewable power. 

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.’s earnings rose in the fourth quarter as it wrapped up a record year of fundraising that has given the firm more than US$90 billion to invest.

The Toronto-based company plans to more than double that to US$1 trillion by 2027, driven by ambitious plans to grow in private credit and insurance. Some of the growth may come through acquisitions, Flatt suggested at a conference in December. 

Brookfield invested US$73 billion and sold US$34 billion of investments during 2022, Flatt and Teskey said in their letter.

FUNDRAISING CONTINUES

Brookfield expects to launch its second global transition fund after committing more than 50 per cent of the first US$15 billion raised for the strategy. The firm also recently started raising money for its fourth real estate flagship fund, the executives said.

During the fourth quarter, the firm held additional closes for its infrastructure and private equity funds at US$22 billion and US$9 billion, respectively. Brookfield has targeted raising as much as US$25 billion for the infrastructure fund, Bloomberg reported last year, and US$12 billion for the private equity strategy.