Carlyle Group aims to raise more than $200 billion by 2028

By Isla Binnie and Prakhar Srivastava

Feb 26 (Reuters) – Investment firm Carlyle expects to raise at least $200 billion between now and the end of 2028, a faster pace than the previous three years, and boost its earnings from managing that money, the company said on Thursday.

The outlook comes as a sharp selloff in software stocks this month, driven by AI disruption fears, spilled over into other sectors including asset managers amid concerns about credit quality and exposure to the technology sector.

Shares of the company, which have fallen 12.8% so far this year, rose 1.92% in trading before the bell. Chief Executive Harvey Schwartz has been working on a turnaround at Carlyle, which manages around $477 billion, after the company faced a few difficult years linked to an industry-wide downturn and an internal succession struggle. Three years after joining the firm, former Goldman Sachs executive Schwartz said in a statement he had “systematically reshaped” the company. The targeted $200 billion inflows would represent a jump from the $158 billion the firm raised between 2023 and 2025. Carlyle was widely seen as having lagged rivals such as Blackstone, Apollo and KKR for some years when Schwartz took over, struggling to garner more of the assets that would generate management fees.

Mergers and acquisitions rebounded late last year after a prolonged slowdown, helped by lower interest rates that made deal financing cheaper. Easing concerns over U.S. trade policies also raised hopes among asset managers that stronger activity will support exits. Carlyle’s last earnings report earlier this month slightly beat analyst expectations thanks to income from deals at its private equity arm and gains at its credit and secondaries businesses. It is now targeting $1.9 billion in 2028 fee-related earnings, which can provide money managers with stable income when markets are turbulent. That figure reached $1.2 billion in 2025. Distributed earnings per common share, a closely watched metric, is now projected to come in at more than $6 per share in 2028 versus $4.02 in 2025. “We’re confident that we can meet or exceed each of these targets,” said Chief Financial Officer Justin Plouffe. Carlyle also approved a $2 billion repurchase authorization.

(Reporting by Isla Binnie in New York and Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)