Carlyle Group Inc.’s wealth business has nearly doubled since Harvey Schwartz became chief executive officer in 2023 and is on track to account for some 20% of the firm’s capital flows.
“The silver tsunami is upon us,” Shane Clifford, global head of wealth at Carlyle, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Clifford was referring to the massive wealth transfer from Baby Boomers to their surviving spouses and children.
“I am seeing it in real time,” he said, on the sidelines of an event in Detroit related to Oracle Red Bull Racing, the Formula One racing team that Carlyle is sponsoring through a multiyear global partnership.
Schwartz has prioritized the alternative investment manager’s expansion into retail. Last year it rolled out new funds for individuals that will buy and sell secondhand private equity fund stakes.
Carlyle’s wealth business’s “exponential” growth puts it on track to make up 20% of capital flows for the roughly $474 billion asset manager, he added.
The investment portfolios of the wealthy are diversifying, he said. A couple of years ago, private markets assets accounted for between 5% to 6% of allocation in those portfolios, he said.
“Today we are seeing that go north of 10%, in the range of 10% to 30%,” Clifford said.
Alternative asset managers are vying for a slice of the roughly $12 trillion sitting in Americans’ 401(k)s and other defined-contribution retirement plans.
Carlyle’s peers, including Blackstone Inc. and Apollo Global Management Inc., have also been building out teams and rolling out new partnerships and products to grab a share of the wealth market.
Carlyle announced the deal with Oracle Red Bull last year as part of the wealth push. Clifford said the sport has generated a resurgence of fan interest, including from women, in recent years.
The partnership helps Carlyle deliver “unique experiences” to its wealthy clients and advisers, Clifford said.
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