Senior Analyst

Brookfield Asset Management reported record second-quarter results for 2026, with fee-related earnings of $808 million, up 20% year-over-year. Distributable earnings rose 15% to $707 million. The company raised $77 billion during the quarter. Fee-bearing capital reached $672 billion, marking a 19% increase over the past 12 months. Chief executive Connor Teskey said the second quarter was "exceptional by almost any measure" and indicated the company expects 2026 to be a record year "not by a small margin." The earnings call included presentations from Teskey, chief financial officer Hadley Marshall, and Sikander Rashid, global head of AI infrastructure and head of Europe, who discussed the company's AI infrastructure strategy and strategic partnerships.

Brookfield Asset Management raised $77 billion in the second quarter, the company announced when releasing financial results to 30 June. A majority came from a $40-billion mandate to invest on behalf of British insurer Just Group, which Brookfield acquired in April for $3.2 billion. The asset manager's artificial intelligence infrastructure strategy, launched last year, raised $5 billion in the quarter. CEO Connor Teskey said the strategy has emerged as Brookfield's "largest and fastest-growing theme". Sikander Rashid, global head of Brookfield's AI strategy, acknowledged concerns about overbuilding but said the firm is selective, avoiding speculative investments and focusing on deals backed by hard assets and long-term contracts.

Asia's wealthy investors turning to private markets as AI stocks look 'frothy': Brookfield. Private markets offer cheaper entry point to AI infrastructure than public equities says the global asset manager Published Tue, Aug 4, 2026 · 11:08 AM * Jeremy Hall, managing director and head of international for Brookfield's private wealth group says investors are becoming more selective as stock market valuations climb. PHOTO: BROOKFIELD [SINGAPORE] With public equity valuations in artificial intelligence looking increasingly "frothy", wealthy investors in Asia seeking exposure to the megatrend should look towards private markets such as infrastructure, where valuations remain far more reasonable, according to global asset manager Brookfield. Jeremy Hall, managing director and head of international for Brookfield's private wealth group, told The Business Times that investors in Asia are becoming more selective as stock market valuations climb. "We think investors are under-allocated to private markets," he noted. He cited a JPMorgan Asset Management study, which showed that when the S&P 500 reaches peak valuations - trading at 21 to 23 times earnings - investors face average returns of around negative to positive 2 per cent. "Today, the S&P 500 is trading around 24.5 times, and therefore we believe that investors are starting to see that equity valuations are fairly full," said Hall. By contrast, private equity managers are acquiring companies at around eight to nine times Ebitda (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation). Asean intelligence. Get insights into businesses across South-east Asia This valuation gap is driving a pronounced shift towards alternative investments among private wealth clients, Hall added, noting a "significant uptick in alternative allocations by individual investors", particularly in Asia. Growth in apac. The momentum has driven Brookfield's private wealth business to grow 60 per cent year on year in Asia-Pacific, and the wealth vehicle strategy launched in 2023 has raised US$9 billion of capital, with a "huge component" coming from Singapore, said Hall. The group's international team now stands at over 250 professionals globally, including 24 people across Asia Pacific and 11 based in Singapore, in roles such as client relationship management, marketing, investor servicing and business management. The growing appetite for alternatives is also reinforcing Singapore's role as a regional private wealth centre. In 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore proposed a regulatory framework for retail private market investment funds with the growing interest seen for such investments. Brookfield is actively recruiting roles in Singapore to continue the build out of local investment and capital raising teams but declined to reveal figures. Singapore continues to attract both domestic and international wealth, Hall noted, especially from India and Indonesia. This expansion is further boosted with the institutionalisation of family offices, adoption of alternatives and progressive regulatory frameworks such as the variable capital company (VCC) structure provided in Singapore. "Many of our intermediary partners have adopted the VCC structure as a way to support the uptick in growth in alternatives locally," said Hall. "Singapore is seen as a hub for local investors and cross-border investors that are taking advantage of the growth of alternatives." Infrastructure the biggest opportunity. Among private market assets, Hall sees infrastructure as a "US$152 trillion dollar opportunity", supported by three structural tailwinds: decarbonisation, digitalisation, and deglobalisation. "Infrastructure touches each and every one of these broader themes," Hall noted. The energy transition is driving investment into renewables and electrification, while AI and digitalisation are fuelling demand for data centres, power networks and semiconductor infrastructure. At the same time, supply chain reshoring is adding another leg of growth. Against this backdrop, he observed that private wealth clients are rapidly ramping up their infrastructure exposure even as it is historically dominated by institutional funds. Beyond infrastructure, Brookfield is also seeing growing interest in private credit, where its subsidiary Oaktree Capital Management sees its performing credit investments yielding around 6.5 to 7.5 per cent. Meanwhile, private equity is looking increasingly attractive as it continues to offer access to a much broader investment universe than listed markets. Today, Hall noted, over 86 per cent of companies generating more than US$100 million in annual revenue remain private - a massive investable universe to which most private wealth investors have minimal exposure. Manager selection and liquidity risks. While infrastructure, credit and private equity presents an attractive opportunity for investors, Hall cautioned that they are not without risks. Particularly, Hall said that private market allocations require a clear understanding of the trade-offs that investors should be aware of - most notably lower liquidity in their investments. "Alternatives offer all these benefits, but you need to take a long-term time horizon," he said. Addressing the volatility seen in private credit earlier in the year, Hall noted that while private credit provides attractive income return exposures, risk management and manager selection are critical. With the growth in the number of private credit managers ballooning from roughly 15 following the 2008 global financial crisis to more than 500 today, many of these managers have not been cycle tested through a major downturn, warned Hall.