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CFO John Redett acknowledged CP7 will not be a top-performing fund but noted its 17% appreciation over the last two years. He explained that while the exact carry tipping point is hard to predict, the focus remains on driving performance to boost realizations and DPI. He pointed to the firm's $2.9 billion in accrued carry (up 30% YoY) as a significant source of future value for shareholders.

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CFO John Redett reiterated that CP7 will not be the firm's best fund but highlighted its 17% appreciation over the last two years as 'quite extraordinary.' He stated that the only way to drive carry is to continue to improve performance, which the firm is doing. Redett pointed to the firm's total net accrued carry balance of $2.9 billion, up 30% year-over-year and representing $8 per share, as a tremendous source of future value for shareholders.

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CFO John Redett confirmed that the insurance-related inflows are included in the $40 billion target. He noted strong momentum in the wealth business, with fundraising up 40% in the quarter and AUM in evergreen products up 70% year-over-year. He also stated that April data showed no negative impact on flows or redemptions from recent policy shifts.

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CFO John Redett attributed the Q4 fee-paying AUM decline to non-economic 'noise,' specifically a $6 billion mark-to-market adjustment at Fortitude from interest rate movements and a $3 billion FX impact. He emphasized that these have no material economic impact and directed focus to the $23 billion in pending fee-earning AUM.

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CEO Harvey Schwartz responded that the firm has managed through tariffs before and that risk management across various scenarios is a standard practice. He emphasized that it is a "wait-and-see" situation regarding specific policy implementation and that Carlyle's diversification across industries and geographies provides a natural hedge, meaning there are no unique issues for the firm.

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CEO Marc Rowan stated that while it is early and subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to be accretive to both Athora's valuation and Apollo's FRE over time. He framed the deal strategically, explaining that PIC's scale in the UK market will incentivize the creation of a massive pound-denominated asset origination ecosystem, mirroring the successful synergy between Apollo and Athene in the U.S. market.

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President James Zelter explained that these partnerships leverage the distribution of traditional managers and will likely evolve into an 'open architecture' model, similar to bank partnerships. He positioned these initiatives as being in their early stages, emphasizing that the key to success is producing the 'rare commodity' of private assets. He expects 'traditionals' to become a distinct business pillar discussed on future calls.

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CEO Marc Rowan confirmed hearing the rumors and outlined Apollo's multi-faceted approach to insurance acquisitions through Athene (U.S. spread), Athora (Europe), and Venerable (variable annuities). He stated that Apollo has ample capital and is well-positioned to execute any deal that makes economic sense, but stressed that the primary goal is earning attractive spreads, not simply growing assets for the sake of scale.

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CFO Martin Kelly explained that Apollo is not seeing a margin headwind, as costs are migrating from upfront fees to revenue-netted trailers, and some key channels like family offices incur no external distribution cost. CEO Marc Rowan added that strong, supply-constrained demand for private assets should support stable fees, making origination capacity the true bottleneck, not distribution.

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CEO Michael Arougheti stated that Ares is often on both sides of such refinancings and is less reliant on the upper-middle-market sponsor flow that trades between direct lending and BSL markets. He affirmed that investment pipelines were building into Q3 not just in direct lending but across other strategies like secondaries and real estate.

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Michael Arougheti, Co-Founder, CEO & Director, noted that Ares operates on both sides of the direct lending to syndicated market flow, often following credits into its liquid credit business. He emphasized that Ares is less reliant on the upper-middle-market sponsor flow that frequently moves between these markets. Arougheti confirmed that investment pipelines are strengthening into Q3 across multiple strategies, not just direct lending.

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CEO Michael Arougheti stated that while the overall size of the investment pipeline is unchanged, private credit is capturing a greater share of new issue volume as the liquid markets have become more selective. Regarding pricing, he noted that spreads have widened by a healthy 50 to 75 basis points from pre-April levels, using ARCC as a proxy. This indicates improved terms, though not as wide as seen in some prior periods of extreme dislocation.

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CFO Jennifer Dardis explained the change was made because the business has grown and the firm is vehicle-agnostic in delivering its strategies. Since the value delivered and fee are similar to SMAs, it provides a clearer picture of business health. She noted the July win would be reflected in the next AUM release. President, CEO & Chair Robert Sharps added that model delivery is a meaningful market trend, and incorporating it into AUM is appropriate as the capability scales. Dardis contextualized the $9B by noting the existing SMA business is just over $10B.

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CFO Jen Dardis stated the wins were broad-based across equities, multi-asset, and fixed income, highlighting that there were 10 or 11 wins above $200 million each in December alone. CEO Robert Sharps added that the wins spanned various strategies and channels, including large-cap growth in wealth, institutional structured research, an insurance fixed income mandate, and a large Target Date fund win.

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CFO Jen Dardis clarified the other sub-advised business is primarily in retirement. CEO Rob Sharps added that the trends seen in the VA business are not consistent across the entire sub-advisory platform. He explained the VA industry faces specific pressures from products like fixed index annuities, which is not the case for the rest of their sub-advisory business in wealth and retirement, making those assets less prone to the same outflow trends.

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President & COO Thomas Wojcik stated that while the topic has been discussed, AMG did not see this trend materially impact its Q2 flow numbers. He emphasized AMG's global diversification, noting recent European investments like Montefiore and Qualitas position the firm well regardless of regional shifts. CEO Jay Horgen concurred, adding that while they are well-positioned with European-based affiliates, they have not seen this trend significantly affect the business yet.

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Thomas Wojcik, COO, detailed the success of AMG's vertically integrated U.S. wealth platform, noting alternatives AUM on it has grown tenfold in five years. He mentioned launching three new evergreen products in the past year and filing for two more. With the AMG Pantheon fund surpassing $5 billion in AUM, the platform will soon feature six continuously offered alternative solutions, with a strong future pipeline that includes active ETFs.

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COO Tom Wojcik stated that Q4 seasonality is typically muted for AMG and should become even less of a factor as the business mix shifts toward alternatives. He and CEO Jay Horgen clarified that they do not see realizations as a material headwind, as strong fundraising (20%+ annualized organic growth) is driving future earnings power, and many realizations are from older funds where AMG has no carried interest.

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CFO Alan Kirshenbaum confirmed that Blue Owl still feels 'very good' about fundraising in the second half of the year for both institutional and wealth channels. Co-CEO Marc Lipschultz added that the strong quarter reflects the balanced model, with both channels performing exceptionally well. They noted that while the OREF VII fund close was an early positive outlier, the overall pipeline remains robust as more products across the platform hit their stride.

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Chief Financial Officer Alan Kirshenbaum confirmed the retail flow expectation. Regarding non-U.S. sleeves, he and Co-CEO Marc Lipschultz explained that these new international distribution channels often operate on a quarterly closing cadence, which will result in a recurring boost in the final month of each quarter rather than a smooth monthly baseline. They expressed excitement about the potential to continue growing these local feeder funds globally.

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Co-Chief Executive Officer Marc S. Lipschultz expressed high confidence, highlighting the 20-year track record of Atalaya, which forms the basis of the offering. He stated that Blue Owl is already out with platforms and receiving a strong reception, and he fully expects to be a key leader in the alternative credit category, similar to their position in direct lending and real estate.

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Chief Financial Officer Alan Kirshenbaum noted that over 20% of Q3 fundraising came from new strategies and said that nearly $1 billion quarterly from insurance solutions (Kuvare) is a 'good benchmark.' He expects fundraising from Atalaya to ramp with its flagship fund and a new wealth product in 2025. Co-CEO Marc Lipschultz added that these deals add new 'layers to the layer cake' of growth.

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Co-CEO Scott Nuttall stated that KKR's direct experience has not matched the negative headlines. He confirmed the firm has been very active selling assets to strategic buyers, particularly in Asia. Nuttall observed that the bid-ask spread has been dissipating, and with public company stocks up, strategics have a more attractive currency to make acquisitions. He concluded, 'we're not experiencing what we're reading about.'

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CFO Rob Lewin explained that the firm is focused on the 'all-in ROE,' which is approaching 20%, rather than just the insurance segment's operating earnings. He noted that KKR is intentionally under-earning in the near term by elongating liabilities and adding more alternatives to the portfolio. These strategic shifts, which optimize long-term value, take time to impact the P&L, as returns from alternatives are not all yield-based.

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CFO Robert Lewin responded that monetization timing is fluid but is expected to be up for the full year. He provided a visibility metric of 'approaching $400 million' in high-visibility revenue from signed or announced deals. He also noted that deal pipelines were strong five weeks into the new quarter.

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Chief Financial Officer Rob Lewin provided a visible monetization pipeline of approximately $500 million for Q4. He added the important detail that about 60% of this revenue is expected to be taxed at the lower 10-20% compensation ratio, resulting in a more significant flow-through to the bottom line.

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J. Christopher Donahue, Chairman, President, & CEO, and Deborah Cunningham, EVP & CIO of Global Liquidity Markets, view tokenization as an incremental growth opportunity and a new distribution channel, not a disintermediation threat. They highlighted their partnership with BNY Mellon and Goldman Sachs as a sound strategy. Regarding fund flows, Ms. Cunningham noted that while the institutional rotation is 'alive and well,' it hasn't started 'in earnest' as expected rate cuts have not yet occurred. She described Q2 as a tale of two halves, with tax and margin-call outflows in April followed by a recovery and rotation into funds in May and June.

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CEO John Donahue confirmed no impact from tariff noise and no capacity issues for MDT. CIO Deborah Cunningham noted substantial inflows post-April 15 and expects continued positive flows due to attractive yields. CFO Thomas Donahue quantified post-tax inflows at approximately $5 billion and clarified that the steady-state for the 'other' expense line is around $4 million, with recent noise from GBP hedging.

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CEO John Donahue explained that on a three-year average, money market share is stable and client retention is strong, attributing quarterly fluctuations to normal large flows. CIO Debbie Cunningham added that Q1 2025 has started with surprisingly strong flows. Regarding buybacks, CFO Tom Donahue stated the stock is still viewed as significantly undervalued and the company expects to continue repurchasing shares in 2025.

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CEO John Donahue attributed short-term market share fluctuations to lumpy client activity, such as a $6 billion withdrawal to pay down debt. CIO for Money Markets, Deborah Cunningham, added that a late-quarter SOFR rate jump caused some institutional clients to temporarily shift to the direct market. She also noted that retail-focused competitors are gaining share by converting depositors to money fund clients. Regarding expenses, CFO Thomas Donahue explained the FX gain was from hedging and that about three-quarters of the impact could reverse in coming quarters if exchange rates stabilize.

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President & COO Jonathan Gray acknowledged that potential funding cuts add uncertainty, particularly for tenant demand in life science office space. However, he stressed that the sector's fundamentals remain strong due to enormous innovation, which AI will likely accelerate, and significant capital needs from both large pharma and smaller biotech firms. He asserted that Blackstone's unique expertise and scale create a substantial investment opportunity despite potential policy changes. CFO Michael Chae added that new construction starts for life science offices are down over 80%, which will benefit the sector long-term.

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President and COO Jonathan Gray stated the environment is 'fundamentally different' now. The scale of private credit allows M&A to continue during volatility because its pricing is more stable. He confirmed their private credit business provides financing to both Blackstone's own funds and other sponsors. CFO Michael Chae added that this certainty of capital is 'transformational' for the M&A market.

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Jonathan Gray, President & COO, stated that since few of Blackstone's portfolio companies export physical goods at scale to the U.S., he does not foresee a major impact from potential tariffs. Michael Chae, CFO, provided the geographic breakdown of the portfolio, noting it is heavily concentrated in the U.S. at approximately 75%, with about 15% in Europe and a modest single-digit percentage in Asia, resulting in manageable exposure to non-U.S. markets.

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Chairman & CEO Laurence D. Fink described conversations with central banks and regulators about stablecoins as 'vibrant,' stating that the tokenization of assets is the future and BlackRock is well-positioned to play a significant role. He stressed that for a stablecoin to be legitimate, its reserves must be invested in high-quality government bonds of the underlying currency, a principle BlackRock upholds. He believes this is just the beginning of a major trend as more countries look to digitize their currencies.

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Executive Martin Small segmented the market, explaining that large plan sponsors will be the slowest to adopt, while mid-tier and smaller, adviser-sold plans show the most interest and will move fastest. He expects initial velocity to come from platforms like trust companies and RIAs. Small believes the operational implementation can be done faster than prior innovations because it involves allocating to funds within existing target-date structures.

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CEO Jay Jackson confirmed a positive uptick in policyholder inquiries, which he noted was amplified by the company's ongoing advertising efforts in the current uncertain market. He also highlighted significant investor demand for uncorrelated assets, evidenced by a $123 million capital raise for new funds. Regarding the share buyback, Mr. Jackson explained that the decision was based on a valuation analysis where the stock's discount appeared more accretive than the return on equity from acquiring new policies, a calculation that is continuously evaluated as the stock price changes.

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CFO Matthew Nicholls reported a 'really great relationship' with the Power group of companies, with approximately $3-4 billion of the initial $25 billion allocation remaining to be funded. He also praised the performance of the Putnam team, which was part of the transaction. Head of Global Distribution Adam Spector added that the firm is winning other significant insurance mandates by offering a broad range of solutions, particularly in alternatives.

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Head of Global Distribution Adam Spector explained that success stems from a strategy of deepening partnerships with select insurance companies that are consolidating their manager lists. CEO Jennifer Johnson added that Franklin's broad capabilities, educational resources like the Franklin Templeton Academy, and specific insurance expertise make it a preferred partner in these consolidation deals, noting the recent large Venerable win has funded.

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Executive Ali Dibadj countered that ETF success is broad, with four products over $1 billion, and the strategy is to offer strong investment capabilities in the ETF wrapper clients demand. For core active equity, the focus is on gaining market share. CFO Roger Thompson added that 13 different strategies saw over $100 million in net inflows during the quarter, demonstrating broader strength beyond a single product.

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