stockrowWhat it does
KKR is a global investment firm that manages alternative investments, provides capital-markets services and operates an insurance business under the Global Atlantic brand. Founded in 1976, it began with leveraged buyouts and now invests across private equity, real assets, credit and liquid strategies.
The firm manages money for institutions and individual investors. Its investment teams select, buy, finance, manage and eventually sell or refinance investments. Private Equity takes controlling or influential stakes in companies; Real Assets invests in infrastructure, real estate and energy; and Credit and Liquid Strategies invests in corporate debt, asset-based finance, structured credit and hedge-fund partnerships.
KKR also helps companies and investment vehicles arrange debt and equity financing, underwrite securities offerings and syndicate loans or co-investments. It invests some of its own balance-sheet capital alongside client capital.
Global Atlantic sells retirement and life-insurance products and provides reinsurance solutions in individual and institutional markets. This gives KKR an insurance operation alongside its asset-management platform. KKR had $744 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2025, including $219 billion from Global Atlantic.
How it makes money
KKR has three reporting segments: Asset Management, Insurance and Strategic Holdings. Asset Management has five business lines: Private Equity, Real Assets, Credit and Liquid Strategies, Capital Markets and Principal Activities. It earns management fees for managing funds, accounts and vehicles; fees generally depend on the strategy, liquidity profile and investment results delivered to clients.
Management fees are designed to recur while capital remains managed. Drawdown private-equity funds generally charge 1.0% to 2.0% of committed capital during their investment period, then 0.75% to 1.50% of invested capital. Open-ended and evergreen vehicles generally charge 0.50% to 1.25% of gross or net asset value, or equity value. KKR can also earn fee-related performance revenues from certain evergreen vehicles, subject to preferred returns and high-water marks.
It earns carried interest—generally 10 to 20% of fund investors’ net realized profits—when a fund clears applicable conditions, including realization events and, where applicable, performance hurdles. It also earns transaction and monitoring fees from portfolio companies, capital-markets fees for arranging or underwriting financing, and investment income on KKR’s own invested capital.
Global Atlantic produces insurance revenue from retirement and life-insurance products and reinsurance activity, while the insurance segment invests to meet expected policyholder cash outflows. Strategic Holdings earns dividends and realized investment income from operating businesses and investments.
For FY2025, Insurance revenue was $11.6 billion and Asset Management and Strategic Holdings revenue was $4.1 billion; in Q2 2026, management fees were $1.2 billion and insurance segment operating earnings were $288 million.
| Segment | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance | $11.6 billion | 74.1% | −20.7% |
| Asset Management and Strategic Holdings | $4.1 billion | 25.9% | 11.2% |
Customers and how it sells
KKR’s clients include institutional and individual investors in 65 countries. Its institutional investor base includes public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations and investment managers. Capital-markets clients include multinational corporations, public and private companies, financial sponsors, mutual funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and hedge funds.
Individual-investor capital reaches KKR through wirehouses, independent broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, global private banks and family offices. Its K-Series vehicles offer private-equity, infrastructure, credit and real-estate exposure through multiple distribution channels in the United States and other jurisdictions. Capital Group provides another channel through sponsored public-private investment vehicles.
The firm operates from 36 offices across four continents. Its investment strategies span North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, depending on the strategy. Global Atlantic serves individual and institutional insurance markets, and KKR’s capital-markets operation serves the firm, portfolio companies, its insurance business and third-party customers.
Management said on the Q2 2026 call that KKR has nine offices and nearly 1,000 people in Asia Pacific, including more than 200 in Tokyo.
| Segment | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance | $11.6 billion | 74.1% | −20.7% |
| Asset Management and Strategic Holdings | $4.1 billion | 25.9% | 11.2% |
Suppliers and costs
KKR is a services business rather than a manufacturer, so it does not describe a manufacturing supply chain. Its asset-management operations depend on investment professionals, operating professionals, advisors and business relationships that support sourcing, due diligence and portfolio-company value creation. It also uses outside accountants, consultants, lawyers, investment banks and industry experts in its investment process.
The firm had 5,043 employees in FY2025 across asset management, insurance and subsidiary organizations. Asset Management operating expenses, including occupancy and typical operating expenses, are shared across one expense pool because its five business lines operate collaboratively. Compensation is a central cost: carried-interest and investment-income compensation are components of asset-management segment earnings, while fee-related compensation is tied to fee-related revenues.
The insurance business must fund policyholder obligations, capital and collateral requirements, while the broader firm also funds investment commitments, underwriting activity, debt service, taxes and operating expenses.
- Revenue$19.5B
- Cost of revenue−$11.3B
- Selling, general and administrative−$7.1B
- Other operating costs−$309.3M
- Operating income$747.0M
Competitive position
KKR competes globally and locally for investor capital, investment opportunities, financing mandates and employees. In asset management and capital markets, it faces traditional and alternative asset managers, investment banks, commercial finance companies, operating companies acting as strategic buyers, local and regional firms, financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds. In insurance, it competes with life and annuities businesses, including those owned by or partnered with alternative asset managers.
Fundraising competition turns on investment performance, liquidity, investor reputation, alignment of interests, relationship duration, service quality, pricing and fund terms. Competition for investments and capital-markets transactions centers on price, terms, transaction structure and certainty of execution. Insurance competition includes crediting rates, product features, service, distribution, financial-strength ratings, underwriting expertise, access to capital and regulatory relationships. No individual corporate competitors are named in the available business discussion.
Our reading: KKR’s global investment platform, 36 offices, broad strategy range and long-duration capital support its ability to source investments and raise capital, but the evidence also makes clear that investors can choose among many kinds of managers and financing providers.
Our reading: Global Atlantic’s established retirement and life-insurance franchise, combined with KKR’s asset-origination capabilities, is a meaningful operating linkage; its strength is constrained by the highly competitive market for insurance liabilities and investment assets.
Growth opportunities
KKR’s growth avenues include raising more client capital, putting undeployed capital to work, expanding evergreen and private-wealth vehicles, growing insurance and building Strategic Holdings. It also seeks growth across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit, capital markets and Asia Pacific.
At December 31, 2025, approximately 92% of assets under management had an initial duration of at least eight years or longer. Perpetual capital has no predetermined requirement to return invested capital when investments are realized. These structures can keep fee-paying capital invested beyond the life of a conventional drawdown fund.
Management said on the Q2 2026 call that it had raised $305 billion of capital from the beginning of 2024, surpassing its three-year $300 billion fundraising target. It said it had $72 billion of committed capital not yet earning fees, with a weighted average management fee of about 90 basis points once invested or in an investment period.
Management also said on the call that Helix Digital Infrastructure launched with over $10 billion of initial long-duration committed capital. Helix is a perpetual, open-ended AI-infrastructure company serving hyperscalers with coordinated data-center, power and connectivity services. Management said KKR had committed and invested over $75 billion across digital infrastructure and power.
The firm has also expanded through Arctos. Management said it believes it can scale KKR Solutions to over $100 billion of assets under management over time. It said Strategic Holdings operating earnings could scale by 2030.
- $16.2BFY2021
- $5.7BFY2022
- $14.5BFY2023
- $21.9BFY2024
- $19.5BFY2025
Structural risks
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Market and economic conditions can affect investment values, fundraising, exit timing, capital-markets fees, insurance-product demand, financing availability and the cost of insurance guarantees, capital and collateral.
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Geopolitical developments, trade barriers, tariffs, export controls, political instability, conflict and natural disasters can disrupt cross-border flows of capital, goods or data and affect investment-management and insurance operations.
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Carried interest depends on realization events, overall fund returns, performance hurdles and netting holes. A fund may accrue carried interest without distributing cash, and clawback provisions can require previously paid carry to be returned.
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The business operates in intensely competitive asset-management, capital-markets and insurance markets. Competition can pressure fees, terms, investment pricing, insurance crediting rates and returns on equity.
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Insurance subsidiaries are subject to federal and state regulation, capital and reporting requirements, examinations and restrictions on dividends. Changes in legal requirements or enforcement can increase compliance costs or restrict activities.
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Management said on the Q2 2026 call that competition in insurance liabilities was elevated and that it was allocating less capital to insurance in prevailing market conditions. It also identified the possibility that market uncertainty could delay the launch of some sale processes and affect monetization timing.
Bottom line
Our reading
Our reading: KKR is a diversified alternative-investment platform whose recurring management fees, performance-linked income, capital-markets activity and insurance operation draw on the same investing and capital-origination capabilities. Its large base of long-duration capital and broad client channels support recurring fee generation, while realizations, investment values and insurance conditions can make other earnings streams variable. The business remains exposed to intense competition, market conditions, regulation and the timing of asset sales.