Toronto, Feb 4, 2026, 09:57 ET
- Connor Teskey has been appointed CEO of Brookfield Asset Management, while Bruce Flatt remains as chairman
- BAM reported record fee-related earnings and boosted its dividend by 15%
- This appointment marks a step in the wider succession plan underway at the Brookfield group
Brookfield Asset Management named Connor Teskey as its new chief executive on Wednesday, promoting a key internal leader just as the alternative-asset firm announced record results for 2025 and boosted its dividend. 1
Teskey, a veteran Brookfield executive who has steered segments of its renewables and transition investing efforts, steps into the top role at the publicly traded, asset-light manager. Bruce Flatt will continue as chair of BAM and CEO of Brookfield Corporation. 1
Why it matters now: Brookfield is locking in a next-gen leadership team just as fundraising size and fee growth widen the gap between top private-capital firms and the rest. All this unfolds amid fluctuating deal activity driven by interest rates and market swings. 2
Flatt described the appointment as a calculated move in a multi-year strategy, labeling it “the next step in the succession process we started four years ago.” He added that Teskey is set to propel BAM “to new levels of success,” according to the company’s release. 1
BAM reported a 28% jump in fee-related earnings for the fourth quarter, hitting a record $867 million. These profits, mostly from management fees which are typically more stable than investment returns, also lifted full-year fee-related earnings by 22% to roughly $3.0 billion. 1
Distributable earnings, a non-GAAP metric favored by alternative managers to gauge cash-like earnings for dividends, rose 18% in the quarter to $767 million, BAM reported. 1
The board announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5025 per share, marking a 15% increase. It will be paid on March 31 to shareholders recorded by Feb. 27, the company said. 1
Teskey described 2025 as “another record year” for fundraising, deployment, and monetizations, noting that fee-bearing capital topped $600 billion, which underpinned the dividend hike. 1
BAM reported a 12% rise in fee-bearing capital to $603 billion year-on-year, driven by record fundraising of $35 billion in Q4 and a total of $112 billion for the year. 1
BAM shares climbed roughly 3.4% in early trading, with Brookfield Corporation shares gaining around 1.6%.
The move arrives amid fierce competition from Blackstone, Apollo Global, and KKR, all vying for institutional and wealth capital while touting their strength in generating steady fee streams through long-dated funds and insurance-linked strategies. 1
However, the outlook isn’t guaranteed. Fundraising could stall fast if public markets dip, if policy rates remain elevated longer than expected, or if major exits face delays. That would put pressure on performance fees and slow how quickly private funds can redeploy capital. 1
Brookfield has been busy on the acquisition trail. Its asset management arm, BAM, recently agreed to acquire industrial REIT Peakstone Realty Trust for roughly $1.2 billion. The deal reflects growing demand for logistics and storage space driven by AI infrastructure expansions. 3
