Global investment firm Carlyle announced plans to raise at least $200 billion in fresh capital between now and 2028, signaling an accelerated fundraising effort compared with the prior three-year period. The firm said the larger inflow target is intended to support growth in management-derived revenue.
The fundraising objective would mark an increase from the $158 billion Carlyle secured between 2023 and 2025. Carlyle currently oversees roughly $477 billion of assets under management and has spent the past few years addressing business challenges tied to an industrywide downturn and an internal succession dispute.
Three years after taking the helm, former Goldman Sachs executive Harvey Schwartz said he had "systematically reshaped" the company. Schwartz's tenure has included efforts to close the gap with competing private equity and alternative asset managers that had outpaced Carlyle in new fee-generating asset flows.
Earnings and capital-return targets
Carlyle is projecting fee-related earnings of $1.9 billion in 2028, up from $1.2 billion in 2025. The firm also expects distributed earnings per common share to exceed $6 in 2028, compared with $4.02 in 2025. These fee-related earnings represent a source of recurring revenue that can provide stability when markets are unsettled.
Chief Financial Officer Justin Plouffe said, "We’re confident that we can meet or exceed each of these targets." In addition to the earnings guidance, Carlyle's board approved a $2 billion share repurchase authorization.
Market backdrop and recent performance
The firm's updated outlook arrives as a sharp selloff in software stocks this month - driven by concerns over AI-driven disruption - reverberated across sectors, including asset managers. Market participants raised questions about credit quality and the extent of institutional exposure to the technology sector after the decline.
Despite that turbulence, mergers and acquisitions activity recovered late last year following a prolonged slowdown, aided by lower interest rates that made deal financing more affordable. Easing worries about U.S. trade policies also boosted expectations among asset managers that stronger dealmaking will help generate exits from private investments.
Carlyle's most recent quarterly report, released earlier this month, modestly exceeded analyst estimates. The beat was driven by income from private equity deal activity and gains at the firm's credit and secondaries businesses.
Context for investors
The firm's fundraising ambition, combined with higher projected fee-related earnings and the share buyback authorization, signals management's focus on growing predictable revenue streams and returning capital to investors. At the same time, the near-term environment includes volatility stemming from sector-specific selloffs and evolving deal-market dynamics.