Brookfield Asset Management Raises A Record $23B

Alternative-asset manager Brookfield Asset Management said it raised a record $23 billion in Q2 and foresees speeding up the pace of investments in the wake of the pandemic’s disruption.

The Canadian firm said it has a total of $77 billion in securities, cash and other available capital available when including uncalled capital commitments from clients, Bloomberg reported.

However, the turmoil in the market impacted the company’s earnings in the quarter. The firm experienced $978 million in write-downs, mainly in its collection of real estate, that led to a $656 million Q2 loss.

“While we do not expect full recovery of the global economy until well into 2021, we believe the worst is over, and our own businesses are slowly recovering,” Brookfield Chief Executive Officer Bruce Flatt told Bloomberg. “We have been keeping our powder dry, waiting for opportunities we believe will come.”

Flatt indicated that the company’s three signature funds are half-committed.

He said per the report, “We are being patient with our capital, but we expect the pace of investment to increase over the next 12 months as opportunities present themselves.”

Separately, Brookfield is going to spend $5 billion in an effort to get the retail mall industry back on track following COVID-19 per news in May. Ron Bloom, who serves as the managing partner and vice chairman of the company’s private equity division, will manage the funds.

The focus will be on helping small companies get back on an even keel.

Retail mall stores were some of the most impacted with COVID-19, which brought about store closures and large revenue drops on an industry already grappling with its survival because of online shopping. In 2019, more than 9,000 retail locations shuttered in the United States, marking a rise from the past record high of 6,700 in 2017.

The problem has only been accelerated, with COVID-19 potentially shuttering approximately half of all big department stores in American malls.