Private investment giant The Carlyle Group is positioning itself to capitalise on dislocations in the current investment landscape, with $84bn in available capital ready for deployment, according to a report by Reuters.
Speaking on the firm’s latest quarterly results, Carlyle CEO Harvey Schwartz said the group is “well-positioned to be active in this market environment as opportunities emerge,” citing the firm’s predominantly US-based, services-focused portfolio, which remains relatively insulated from recent macroeconomic disruptions such as tariff uncertainty.
Despite broader volatility stemming from trade policies and geopolitical headwinds, Carlyle posted a strong Q1 performance, beating earnings expectations and growing assets under management (AUM) to a record $453bn — a 6% increase quarter-over-quarter. The firm recorded inflows of $14.2bn and deployed $11.1bn in capital during the period.
Fee-related earnings rose 17% year-over-year to an all-time high of $310.6m, driven by stable fund management revenues and a near-tripling of transaction and advisory fees. Distributable earnings reached $455.4m, or $1.14 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.95.
Carlyle’s global credit platform and its secondaries business, AlpInvest, were key contributors to AUM growth. As exit windows remain limited in the US due to market uncertainty, the firm continues to find liquidity opportunities in regions like Asia where economic conditions remain more favourable.
Schwartz emphasised the increasing strategic importance of private markets access: “For investors looking to drive returns and capture the next generation of market growth, private market access has never been more important,” he said, pointing to the declining number of public companies and the sustained expansion of the private capital ecosystem.
Carlyle shares rose 3.5% following the earnings announcement, though the stock remains down nearly 21% year-to-date — in line with sector peers Blackstone, KKR, and Apollo, which have seen similar declines.
