Brookfield Asset Management

Last updated
Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.
Company type Public
Industry Asset management
Founded12 December 2022;2 years ago (2022-12-12)
Headquarters 250 Vesey Street,
Website bam.brookfield.com

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a Canadian-American alternative asset manager. The company was founded in December 2022 as a spin-off of the asset management operations of Brookfield Corporation, and manages investments across real estate, infrastructure, renewable energy, private equity, and credit markets globally.

Contents

At its inception, the company was headquartered in Toronto, and in December 2024 transferred its headquarters to New York City. Brookfield Asset Management is 73 per cent owned by Brookfield Corporation. [1]

Brookfield Asset Management is run by chief executive J. Bruce Flatt, who serves additionally as chief executive of Brookfield Corporation. In late 2024, the company's managed assets reached the US$1 trillion mark, making it one of the world's largest investment firms.

History

On May 12, 2022, Brookfield announced that it would spin off its asset management business into a new publicly traded company worth US$80 billion. Three months earlier, Brookfield had hinted at the idea of separating its operations. In the announcement by chief executive Bruce Flatt, which was made in his quarterly letter to shareholders, he stated that "the bottom line is that today's Brookfield consists of two businesses that are very different in nature but work together very well. Looking forward, we believe that each of these businesses has incredible potential to expand further. To achieve this growth, however, we have concluded that they should now be separated, while preserving the benefits of their complementary nature and alignment." The existing company, then called Brookfield Asset Management, would be renamed Brookfield Corporation, while the spin-off would use the Brookfield Asset Management name. At the time of the spin off, Brookfield Corporation would own 75 per cent of the share of the new company, and 25 per cent would be released to the public. [2] The decision added a further layer to one of the world's most complex corporations. In a profile of the company in the Financial Times , Mark Vandevelde described Brookfield as "not so much a company as a giant, triangular jigsaw board that spreads across the world and covers assets worth $500bn." [3]

In August 2022, Brookfield announced that the chairman of the spin off would be former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney. [4] Bruce Flatt, chief executive of Brookfield, would be chief executive of the new company, while Connor Teskey would serve as president. Teskey had joined Brookfield in 2012, and in the fall of 2020 was made chief executive of Brookfield Renewable Partners. When Flatt recruited Carney to join Brookfield in 2020 as vice-chairman and head of transition investing, Flatt sold the banker partly on the opportunity to work with Teskey. [5]

The new Brookfield Asset Management began trading on December 12, 2022. [6]

In March 2023, BAM purchased the remaining 50 per cent of Spanish solar developer X-ELIO, whose equity was valued at $2 billion. [7] Also in the first quarter of 2023, BAM raised its stake in Oaktree Capital Management to 68 per cent. [8] In June 2023, BAM acquired Middle Eastern credit card processor Network International for £2.2 billion. [9] That same month, the company acquired American Equity Investment Life for $4.3 billion.

In the summer of 2023, BAM partnered with Sequoia Heritage to form Pinegrove Capital to invest in venture capital-backed companies. Each partner would contribute $250 million, and the company hoped to raise $2 billion. [10] In April 2024, BAM entered talks to buy a majority stake in Castlelake, an aircraft leasing company, for $1.5 billion. [11] In 2023, BAM had raised $61 billion of investment capital by September, with and added $26 billion in the third quarter alone. The company suggested it would attempt to raise $150 billion in the 2023 calendar year. Flatt stated that "most of the way to that $150 billion is very visible through insurance and flagship strategies." [12]

In 2024, Brookfield Asset Management entered into an agreement with Microsoft to develop around 10.5 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity to build new wind and solar farms. [13]

In March 2024, the company announced that Hadley Peer Marshall would succeed Bahir Manios as chief financial officer. [14] By the summer of 2024, the company announced that it was nearing $1 trillion of assets under administration. [15] In the third quarter of 2024, BAM collected $21 billion in capital, which put its assets over the $1 trillion mark. [16]

In September 2024, according to the Globe and Mail, while Brookfield chair Mark Carney was an economic adviser to then prime minister Justin Trudeau, Brookfield asked for $50 billion from pension and government funds to invest in Canadian assets. [17] [18]

In September 2024, BAM suggested it might move its headquarters to the United States in an effort to be included in more American stock market indexes. [19] Two months later, the company announced the move from Toronto to New York City. The move was part of a wider restructuring, whereby BAM would acquire 100 per cent of the Brookfield group's asset management operations by acquiring the 73 per cent stake in the company held by Brookfield Corporation. [20]

On 23 September 2024, Brookfield Asset Management announced that it had raised $2.4 billion for its Catalytic Transition Fund (CTF), which is supported by the United Arab Emirates to enhance climate finance in emerging markets. Launched at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023, the fund was anchored by a $1 billion commitment from ALTERRA, a UAE-based climate fund with a goal of attracting $250 billion in investments by 2030. Notable investors for CTF included Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Prudential plc, and Temasek and GIC. [21]

In October 2024, Brookfield Asset Management outbid Segro to acquire European property company Tritax EuroBox for US$1.44 billion, including debt. [22]

On January 16, 2025, Carney stepped down as chairman to run in the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election. [23] Carney was succeeded as chairman by Flatt. [24]

In February 2025, Brookfield Asset Management acquired Kemelex from Envent Elektric for $1.7 billion. [25]

Controversies

Tax avoidance

The Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research released a report in June 2023, which criticized Brookfield's lack of transparency and tax avoidance. In 2025, it was reported several entities of Brookfield Asset Management were registered to an address in Bermuda that also housed a bicycle shop. [26] [27] [28] Former chair, Mark Carney, defended Brookfield's tax structure during his run for prime minister in the 2025 Canadian federal election. The New Democratic Party estimated Canadians lost an estimated $5.3 billion in revenue due to Brookfield Asset Management’s tax avoidance between 2021 and 2024 when Mark Carney was at the company. [29]

Carbon neutral claims

In February 2021, Mark Carney, Vice chairman and Head of Impact Investing and ex Governor of the Bank of England, had to retract an earlier claim that the $600 billion Brookfield Asset Management portfolio was carbon neutral. He based his claim on the fact that Brookfield has a large renewable energy portfolio and “all the avoided emissions that come with that”. [30] The claim was criticized as an accounting trick, as avoided emissions do not counteract the emissions from investments in coal and other fossil fuels responsible for a carbon footprint of about 5,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide. [31] The company is actually aiming to be net-zero by 2050. [32] [33]

Leadership

Chief Executive Officer

President

Chairman of the Board

Finances

For the fiscal year 2018, Brookfield Asset Management reported earnings of US$3.584 billion, with an annual revenue of $56.771 billion, an increase of 39.2% over the previous fiscal cycle. Brookfield Asset Management’s shares traded at over $38 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over $40.8 billion in November 2018. [34]

Brookfield Asset Management’s shares traded at $32.71 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over $54.23 billion on October 17, 2023 [35]

YearRevenue

(mil. USD$)

Net income

(mil. USD$)

Total assets

(mil. USD$)

Price per share

(USD$)

20055,2561,66226,0587.61
20066,8971,17040,70812.17
20079,34378755,59716.74
200812,86864953,61113.22
200912,08245461,9029.33
201013,6233,19578,13113.76
201115,9213,67491,03016.72
201218,6972,747108,64418.69
201320,8303,844112,74522.42
201418,3642,956129,48027.22
201519,9132,207139,51432.47
201624,4111,518159,82632.10
201740,7861,317192,72038.17
2022 [36] 56,7713,584256,281

References

  1. "Brookfield Corporation Annual Information Form" (PDF). 21 March 2025. pp. 4–5, 7, 20. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  2. David Milstead, "Brookfield says it will spin off stake in asset management business," Globe and Mail, (13 May 2022).
  3. Mark Vandevelde, "Brookfield: inside the $500bn secretive investment firm," Financial Times (5 February 2020).
  4. David Milstead, "Brookfield income falls as rates rise," Globe and Mail, (12 August 2022), B4.
  5. James Bradshaw, "Corporate Citizen of the Year: Brookfield's Connor Teskey is moving the needle on the energy shift (and making money, too)," Globe and Mail, (22 November 2023).
  6. David Leeder, "Tuesday's analyst upgrades and downgrades," Globe and Mail, (13 December 2022).
  7. Ivan Levingston, "Brookfield takes full control of solar group," Financial Times, (21 March 2023), 6.
  8. Antoine Gara, "Brookfield predicts consolidation in asset management amid downturn," Financial Times, (10 May 2023).
  9. Will Louch, "Brookfield strikes £2.2bn deal for London-listed payment processor," Financial Times, (9 June 2023).
  10. Antoine Gara and George Hammond, "Brookfield and Sequoia offshoot launch fund to target discount-priced start-ups," Financial Times, (3 August 2023).
  11. Antoine Gara and Eric Platt, "Brookfield in talks to buy majority stake in $22bn airline lender," Financial Times.
  12. Luis Garcia, "Brookfield Asset Management Sees $150 Billion Fundraising Goal Within Reach," Wall Street Journal, (7 November 2023).
  13. "Microsoft, Brookfield to partner on renewable energy projects". 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  14. Adriano Marchese, "Brookfield Asset Management Names Hadley Peer Marshall as New CFO," Wall Street Journal, (19 March 2024).
  15. Amelia Pollard, "Brookfield says it is nearing $1tn assets under management," Financial Times, (7 August 2024).
  16. Luis Garcia, "Brookfield Asset Management Sees Exit Deals Boosting Fundraising," Wall Street Journal (5 November 2024).
  17. "Brookfield's $50bn fund proposal sees limited interest from Canadian pension funds".
  18. "LILLEY: Brookfield deals in need of added scrutiny with Carney advising PM". torontosun.
  19. Robin Wigglesworth, "Brookfield wants to move for some US index fund love," Financial Times, (12 September 2024).
  20. Barbara Shecter, "Brookfield moves headquarters to New York in restructuring aimed at boosting investor base," Financial Post, (2 November 2024), 2.
  21. "Brookfield raises $2.4 billion for climate fund backed by UAE". 23 September 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  22. A, Shanima; Wilkes, Tommy Reggiori (October 10, 2024). "Brookfield to buy Tritax EuroBox for $1.44 bln, sparking potential takeover battle". Reuters. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  23. Vipal Monga and Paul Vieira, "Canada's New Leader Mark Carney Embodies Trump's Least Favorite Things," Wall Street Journal, (11 March 2025).
  24. James Bradshaw, "Mark Carney cuts business ties to Brookfield and other boards as he launches bid for Liberal leadership," Globe and Mail, (16 January 2025).
  25. "Brookfield Completes Acquisition of Chemelex". Brookfield Business Partners. 2025-02-03. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  26. "More Brookfield business entities registered to Bermuda building that houses bike shop". April 2, 2025.
  27. "Brookfield's Bermuda Base: Is Canada's largest Alternative Asset Manager Dodging Global Taxes?". June 2023.
  28. "Toronto Star ePaper".
  29. "Mark Carney has helped Brookfield avoid $5.3 billion taxes since 2021".
  30. "Mark Carney Walks Back Brookfield Net-Zero Claim After Criticism". Bloomberg.com. February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  31. Lewis, Simon (March 3, 2021). "The climate crisis can't be solved by carbon accounting tricks". The Guardian . Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  32. "Brookfield's Net Zero Commitment". Brookfield. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  33. "RE100 Members". RE100. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  34. "Reports & Filings". bam.brookfield.com. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  35. "Yahoo Market". bfinance.yahoo.com. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  36. "Brookfield Asset Management". Fortune. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2023.