Institutional ticker directory tracking stock mentions, long/short ideas, and high-conviction pitches extracted from quarterly hedge fund letters.
| Ticker | Company | Sector | Industry | Pitches | Stance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund / Manager | Thesis Excerpt | Stance | Period / Date | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Zelikovic Investments Yoav Zelikovic | “We also increased our position in the giant American-global asset management company Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts (KKR & Co.), which currently manages ~$640B (reflecting an annual growth rate of 18% since its IPO in 2010). Concurrently, the company's stock has risen at a CAGR of over 20% per annum since 2010. KKR's stock has been in a downtrend from 2025 (down almost 50% from its peak) due to a general downtrend in the P/E industry and due to exposure of funds managed by KKR to the software industry where the market deems artificial intelligence will be serious headwind. Despite these short term challenges I believe that the stock still trades at a substantial discount compared to its long term potential and due to the fact that the asset management industry is among the best and most lucrative industries. Several insiders have been massive purchasers of the stock lately and KKR itself has aggressively bought back shares in the past year.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 3, 2026 | View Pitch |
SVN Capital Fund Shreekkanth "Shree" Viswanathan | “KKR is one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, operates three businesses under one roof, and the corner of it the market suddenly feared is a fraction of the whole. KKR manages a figure” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 11, 2026 | View Pitch |
SVN Capital Fund Shreekkanth "Shree" Viswanathan | “Over the prior two years, KKR was one of the Fund's strongest contributors, as the market began to recognize the earnings power of its asset-management and insurance platforms. In 2025, the stock was ” | BULL | Q4 2025 Jan 13, 2026 | View Pitch |
SVN Capital Fund Shreekkanth "Shree" Viswanathan | “Over the prior two years, KKR was one of the Fund's strongest contributors, as the market began to recognize the earnings power of its asset-management and insurance platforms. In 2025, the stock was down about 13% despite continued business progress. Strip away the stock-price swings, and the business itself has continued to grow. Fee-related earnings, insurance earnings, and long-dated capital have all moved higher, even as sentiment toward rates and private credit became more cautious. The long-term case rests on the structural migration of assets into private markets. Management has articulated an ambition to double and then double again adjusted net income per share over roughly ten years, driven increasingly by recurring operating earnings. Interim volatility is the price paid for owning what I view as a long-duration royalty on the growth of alternative assets worldwide. BSD Analysis: KKR's moat is scale, distribution, and permanent capital—structural advantages that smaller GPs can't replicate. The concentration risk is private market liquidity and fundraising cycles: when exits freeze, sentiment and performance fees evaporate. Fee-related earnings are the quality core, but performance and investment returns still drive perception and multiples. Crowding is a real threat as too much capital chases too few great deals. The private wealth channel expands AUM but increases complexity and reputational stakes. The bull case is continued shift to private credit/solutions and steady FRE growth. The bear case is a prolonged downcycle in realizations and fee pressure. KKR is a compounding machine—until the liquidity tide goes out and everyone notices who was swimming with leverage.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Jan 13, 2026 | View Pitch |
AGT Partners Greg | “KKR was down -13.3% in 2025 after starting the year at elevated valuations (25x PE). Industry concerns around private equity exits and private credit defaults weighed on sentiment. However, as of 3Q2025, over the last twelve months, KKR's AUM, management fees and fee-related earnings have grown 15.8%, 16.3% and 15.6%, respectively. We believe volatility provided an opportunity and added at reasonable valuations. We expect AUM, fees and earnings to continue compounding over many years. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4} BSD Analysis: KKR is on track to exceed its ambitious fundraising goals, targeting over 300 billion dollars in new capital as it scales its diversified platform across private equity, infrastructure, and credit. The company's 2026 outlook is underpinned by a target of seven dollars per share in adjusted net income, supported by a significant recovery in M&A and IPO activity. A key driver of recent growth is the strategic acquisition of Arctos, which positions KKR as a global leader in the rapidly professionalizing sports asset class. Management has demonstrated exceptional operational leverage, growing management fees by fifty percent over the past three years while keeping expense growth strictly limited. With nearly 19 billion dollars in embedded gains across its portfolio, KKR is well-positioned to deliver outsized returns to shareholders as monetization cycles accelerate throughout the year.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 31, 2025 | View Pitch |
Montaka Global Investments Andrew Macken | “The world's leading alternative asset managers, such as Blackstone and KKR, also declined in 2025 – likely driven by a myriad of negative headlines around private credit. In November, KKR CEO, Scott Nuttall, remarked that “the noise is bad, and the facts are good1”. We agree and assess that many investors are underappreciating the cyclical upswing potential for alternative assets. M&A is starting to come back strongly, and asset realisations will follow, which will drive further growth in asset recycling and capital raising. BSD Analysis: KKR starts 2026 with "improving visibility" into deal activity and record fundraising momentum, recently raising management fees by 35% over the past two years. CFO Rob Lewin notes that KKR's diversified earnings base—split between private equity, real assets, and credit—is not yet fully priced by the market. For 2026, KKR expects activity to increase significantly, citing a pipeline that is "definitely a lot better" than in 2025. A primary catalyst for the year is the Asia-Pacific region, where KKR expects more than half of its global growth to originate as it capitalizes on shifting GDP trends and institutional capital rebalancing.” | BULL | Q4 2025 Dec 1, 2025 | View Pitch |
AGT Partners Greg | “Historically, alternative asset managers primarily served institutional investors (sovereign wealth funds, pension funds etc.) seeking exposure to alternative assets. However, individual investors, from high-net-worth individuals to mass-affluent clients, are now increasingly interested in this asset class (private equity, infrastructure, credit etc.), creating a market potentially as large as the institutional segment. The industry is also now on the cusp of being able to sell products to the 401(k) market, which holds an estimated $7 trillion in assets. Demand for investment-grade private credit is rising as well, driven by insurance companies seeking excess spread and institutional investors looking for alternatives to publicly traded fixed income. In this industry, brand and scale are critical – wealth advisors are more likely to recommend products from established firms which have long, successful track records. Hence, it is likely that the major players will be getting an increasing portion of the pie moving forward. Supported by these tailwinds, we believe APO and KKR are well-positioned with a long runway ahead for continued AUM growth and compounding of earnings, as they broaden their product offerings and deepen distribution across both individual and institutional channels. We have thus added to our positions at what we believe to be reasonable valuations, and these are businesses we expect to own for many years, if not indefinitely. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2} BSD Analysis: KKR is private markets at industrial scale, spanning private equity, credit, infrastructure, and real assets. Diversification smooths cycles, even if headlines focus on buyouts. Permanent capital vehicles give KKR flexibility when fundraising slows. Fee-related earnings are increasingly the anchor of valuation. Performance matters, but platform breadth reduces single-strategy risk. Leverage and deal timing always carry risk, especially late cycle. This is not a boutique PE shop anymore. It's an alternative asset conglomerate with global reach. KKR compounds when it plays offense during downturns.” | BULL | Q3 2025 Oct 23, 2025 | View Pitch |
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund Alex Umansky | “We increased the size of our position in KKR & Co. Inc., as we took advantage of price volatility towards the end of the quarter. KKR is a leading alternative asset manager. The company manages $686 billion in assets across a diverse range of strategies in Private Equity (PE), Private Credit, and Real Assets. The company is in the middle of a three-year fundraising super-cycle, in which it expects to raise over $300 billion in new capital. KKR is a prime example of the shifting trends in the alternative asset management industry. Historically, the industry was characterized as buyout PE, typically in North America and Europe, while nowadays, alternative asset classes have significantly expanded including Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Private Credit. We think KKR will continue to be an industry leader as it has successfully diversified its business beyond PE into these other asset classes, and now boasts three scaled businesses (PE, Private Credit and Real Assets) that are each over $150 billion in asssets under management and continuing to grow. Alongside the Asset Management business which generates highly recurring fees, KKR also has a large insurance company, Global Atlantic, which participates in the growing market for retirement assets, and a collection of long-term holdings in private business called Strategic Holdings. We think KKR is poised to leverage its scale, strong track record, and relationships to continue building on this foundation as it scales towards $1 trillion in assets. This includes a more nascent opportunity in Private Wealth, where KKR is partnering with existing large firms such as Capital Group to rapidly scale its distribution capabilities. This is an investor class that has historically not been well served by alternative asset managers (aside from ultra-high-net-worth) and so presents a large growth potential, with retail assets estimated to be $150 trillion. We took advantage of a sell-off in the stock to add to our position, which was related to some concerns over potential weakness in Private Credit given bankruptcy headlines around one or two companies, although our belief is that these companies' debt was not actually underwritten in the private markets. As compared to peers, we think KKR has arguably the most diverse earnings stream given its scale with multiple business models helping drive earnings growth, which we think gives the company many ways to win over the long term, across macroeconomic cycles. BSD Analysis: KKR is a scale alternative-asset manager benefiting from the great migration from public markets to private ones. Fee-related earnings are the “quality” part; performance fees are the “casino” part, and both matter. The business is structurally advantaged: permanent capital, diversified strategies, and distribution muscle. The risk is cycle timing—credit losses, valuation markdowns, and fundraising slowdowns when liquidity dries up. Another risk is crowding: too much capital chasing too few good deals compresses returns. Still, the model works because KKR sells certainty (yield/solutions) in an uncertain world. It's financial engineering with industrial-scale distribution.” | BULL | Q3 2025 Sep 30, 2025 | View Pitch |
SVN Capital Fund Shreekkanth "Shree" Viswanathan | “At KKR ($664 billion in AUM; dry powder of $116 billion), capital raised ($114 billion in the last 12 months) and capital deployed ($101 billion) have remained healthy, while realizations were slightly lower. As the tariff turbulence abates, I expect the realizations to improve and the entire process to get back on track. With dry powder accounting for 17% of its AUM, KKR is in pole position to deploy capital should the markets wobble further. For example, KKR invested in Global Atlantic, an annuity provider, right during the COVID crisis in 2020. In the meantime, ANI (Adjusted Net Income = total operating earnings + realized investing earnings – interest expense), one of the primary valuation metrics, continues to grow: $4.4 billion ($4.88/share) in the last 12 months, up 37%. Nothing has impeded KKR's plan to generate $15.00/share in ANI before 2034. I expect the Peter Lynch-described wound of 2025 to heal over time, as it did the last time. BSD Analysis: KKR is one of the few alternative asset managers that has successfully scaled without losing investment discipline, blending private equity, credit, infrastructure, and real assets under one platform. Its edge comes from long-duration capital and deep operational involvement, allowing KKR to drive value beyond financial engineering. The firm has been especially strong in private credit and infrastructure, where demand for non-bank capital continues to grow. Fee-related earnings are becoming more predictable as permanent capital and insurance-linked assets expand, reducing reliance on lumpy realizations. The main risk is cyclicality in exits and fundraising when capital markets tighten, which can compress performance fees. However, KKR's diversified strategies and global footprint cushion those cycles better than most peers. This is a compounder in alternatives, not a one-cycle trade, as long as private markets keep absorbing capital from traditional asset managers.” | BULL | Q2 2025 Jul 8, 2025 | View Pitch |
“KKR shares were down more than 8% in the first half of the year. Investor pessimism stemmed from tariff concerns and slower fundraising among endowments. However, endowments are less than 5% of KKR's AUM. The long-term growth engines for KKR are continued share gains, product expansion, and widening distribution, including rapid growth in the high-net-worth channel. KKR has grown AUM by 18% per year and management fees by 25% per year over the last 15 years. The company has a clear path to continued compounding. BSD Analysis: KKR benefits from secular tailwinds in private markets, with fundraising breadth and distribution expansion enabling continued fee growth even when institutional flows soften. High-net-worth channels materially expand TAM, and partnerships like Capital Group extend advisor reach. Strong historical AUM and fee-compounding demonstrate durable competitive advantages. Short-term fundraising concerns do not impair long-term earnings power. Tariff or endowment-related fears appear overstated.” | BULL | Q2 2025 Jul 1, 2025 | View Pitch | |
Alphyn Capital Management Samer Hakoura | “KKR's share price fell earlier this year after tariff headlines and worries about a tougher market for private equity realizations, the exits that turn paper gains into cash and carried interest, before rebounding partly in Q2. While those concerns are real, the firm's strength is its resilient cash-flow engine. Most earnings come from what the company recently started to call “Total Operating Earnings,” which are generally steadier than investment income and generate $4.5bn a year. Three elements drive this figure. First, steady management fees which are charged on committed or invested capital, not quarterly marks. Fee paying AUM grew 12 % year over year to $526bn, lifting fee related earnings 23 % to $823m at a 69 % margin. Second, insurance operating earnings: Global Atlantic manages nearly $200bn and earned $259m pre tax in the quarter, nearly a 20 % return on equity. Every new annuity brings both an investment-management fee and a balance-sheet spread, creating a stable, self-funded growth flywheel. Third, strategic holdings, core companies KKR plans to own long term, now contribute $90m, with a line of sight to $300m and eventually $1bn. As regards investment income, $116bn of uncalled commitments, $245bn of carry-eligible assets already marked above cost, and an $800m monetization pipeline give visibility on future fees and carry, supporting KKR's ability to compound regardless of where the fundraising cycle sits in the near term. BSD Analysis: KKR has quietly evolved into a credit, infrastructure, and insurance giant far more balanced than the buyout-heavy firm it used to be. Permanent capital from its insurance arm gives KKR the closest thing to an infinite funding source, and fee-related earnings keep compounding. Deployment is accelerating, fundraising remains strong, and KKR's operating machine has never been stronger. Private credit, in particular, is a multi-trillion-dollar secular tailwind. KKR is no longer just a PE shop — it's a diversified alternative-asset empire.” | BULL | Q2 2025 Jul 1, 2025 | View Pitch |
Each excerpt above is the manager's commentary on this ticker specifically. The full letter has the rest of their portfolio thinking, risk discussion, and broader institutional context.
