Brookfield Caps Record Year with $112B Fundraising Haul, Unveils Leadership Succession
Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) closed the books on a powerful 2025, announcing fourth-quarter and full-year results that executives attributed to unprecedented fundraising, disciplined large-scale investments, and steady growth in its core fee-generating capital. The earnings call also served as a stage for a planned leadership transition and outlined ambitious plans to scale its credit and private wealth channels in the coming year.
"2025 was a year of continued growth across the business and consistent execution of our long-term strategy," stated Chair Bruce Flatt. The firm raised a staggering $112 billion in new capital over the year, deploying a record $66 billion into investments while monetizing $50 billion in equity at what Flatt described as "very good returns."
This activity propelled fee-bearing capital to over $600 billion, a 12% year-over-year increase. Financially, Fee-Related Earnings (FRE) hit a record $3.0 billion (up 22%), while Distributable Earnings (DE) reached $2.7 billion (up 14%). Flatt emphasized the durability of these earnings, noting they are "almost entirely fee-based" and benefit from broad diversification.
Looking ahead, management painted a constructive picture for 2026, citing stabilized interest rates, resilient economic growth, and a thaw in transaction activity as confidence among investors returns.
A key announcement was the formal appointment of Conor Teskey as CEO of Brookfield Asset Management. Flatt, who will remain Chair of the Board and CEO of parent Brookfield Corporation, framed the move as the culmination of a four-year succession plan, stating the "title change merely matches title to substance."
"Last year wasn't just about raising capital; it was about deploying it at scale with discipline," said Teskey, highlighting investments focused on "essential assets and businesses with durable cash flows." He noted the successful final closings of two flagship funds but stressed that nearly 90% of 2025's fundraising came from non-flagship strategies, signaling the breadth of their platform.
A major growth pillar is the expansion of Brookfield's credit business. Teskey detailed efforts to build a global credit platform spanning real asset credit, asset-backed finance, and insurance strategies, bolstered by its Oaktree partnership. He also pointed to the pending acquisition of Just Group by Brookfield Wealth Solutions as a key to unlocking the private wealth channel, with these initiatives expected to add over $200 million in annualized FRE.
CFO Hadley Peer Marshall provided the quarterly granularity: Q4 FRE jumped 28% to $867 million ($0.53/share), while DE rose 18% to $767 million ($0.47/share). Fee-bearing capital ended the year at $603 billion. She highlighted a record fundraising quarter in Q4, with $35 billion raised across more than 50 strategies, including a significant $5 billion for a dedicated AI Infrastructure Fund.
In a move rewarding shareholders, the board approved a 15% increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.50025 per share.
Market Voices:
"The numbers are undeniably strong, and the succession has been telegraphed for years, which markets love. The strategic build-out in credit and wealth solutions is a logical, high-margin growth path that plays to their strengths." - Anya Sharma, Portfolio Manager at Crestline Advisors.
"It's another quarter of 'growth at any scale' from Brookfield. But I'm looking at that Oaktree integration—lower margins dragging on the consolidated figure. It's strategically sound, but let's see if they can improve those economics in the next cycle." - David Chen, Senior Analyst at Veritas Investment Research.
"A $112 billion raise in this environment? It's staggering. It shows the sheer firepower and brand equity Brookfield commands. While everyone talks about private credit, their 'all-weather' infrastructure and real estate engine continues to be the cash cow funding this expansion." - Marcus Reynolds, Editor, The Alternative Edge.
"All this fee-bearing capital growth is impressive, but it feels like financial engineering on a massive scale. They're just moving money from one pocket to another and charging fees on it. The real test will be the returns they deliver in a downturn, not the fees they collect in a boom." - Rebecca Vance, Founding Partner at Vance & Co. (a noted skeptic of asset manager fee models).