The alternative asset managers were down 25% on average on a total return basis during the first half of 2026 as more volatile markets and uncertainties tied to US fiscal, tariff, and monetary policies, and concerns over the private credit market weighed on the group.
Brookfield, with USD 613.8 billion in fee-earning AUM at the end of March 2026, is one of the go-to firms for institutional and high-net-worth investors looking for exposure to alternative assets.
Bears
Private equity and real estate/real assets are both highly cyclical and heavily reliant on efficient deployments and exits for performance and incentive income.
Brookfield Asset Management is one of the world's largest alternative-asset managers, with USD 1.181 trillion in total managed assets, including USD 602.7 billion in fee-earning AUM, at the end of 2025. The company has three main business segments: credit strategies (USD 363.0 billion in total AUM and USD 279.4 billion in fee-earning AUM), private equity (USD 155.0 billion/USD 48.0 billion), and real estate/real assets (USD 663.0 billion/USD 275.3 billion). The firm primarily serves institutional investors (90% of AUM) and high-net-worth individuals (10%), and is diversified globally, with 67% of revenue from the Americas, 20% from EMEA, and 13% from Asia-Pacific. Canada-based Brookfield Corp. owns 73% of Brookfield's outstanding Class A shares.