KKR Chief Explains What's Driving Private Equity Today
- Editor
- Mar 7
- 2 min read
In Brief
In a recent Bloomberg Invest interview, KKR Co-CEO Joseph Bae spoke with Bloomberg's Sonali Basak about global investment opportunities, market volatility, and his firm's strategic evolution from private equity powerhouse to a diversified $640 billion asset manager targeting $1 trillion in assets by 2030.
Big Picture Drivers
Tariffs are creating market uncertainty, but KKR has been preparing for years through supply chain resilience strategies and targeting sectors with minimal exposure
Inflation is likely to remain elevated globally as energy transition and data infrastructure investments have already created "a higher resting heart rate for inflation"
Globalization remains critical, with KKR finding particular value in Japan's economic resurgence and selective opportunities in China's domestic consumer market
Key Topics Covered
Defensive positioning for global trade tensions through investments in domestic healthcare services, home services, and software with minimal tariff exposure
Geographic diversification emphasizing Japan's positive wage growth and corporate governance reforms, making it KKR's largest capital destination outside the US
Strategic evolution of KKR into three pillars: traditional asset management ($650B), insurance through Global Atlantic ($190B), and strategic holdings (18 companies owned directly)
Key Insights
American advantage isn't about "winning alone" but stems from economic resilience, capital markets, and labor productivity through technology and workforce mobility
China strategy focuses exclusively on high-quality domestic businesses serving the Chinese middle class (pet food, pharmacy chains) while avoiding geopolitically sensitive sectors
Retail access to private markets is expanding through new vehicles targeting accredited investors with $1-5M in net worth, plus mutual fund partnerships to reach 90% of US households
By The Numbers
2030 targets include reaching $1 trillion in assets under management and generating $1.1 billion in annual after-tax dividends from strategic holdings
Free cash flow projections of $25 billion over the next five years will be allocated across KKR's three business pillars
Growth trajectory of Global Atlantic from $70 billion AUM in 2020 to $190 billion today demonstrates KKR's scaling capabilities
Memorable Quotes
"In really volatile periods like we're in right now, having that flexibility of capital...usually leads to really interesting deployment opportunities for our firm."
"The approach we have with third-party asset management, insurance and strategic holdings is quite differentiated and different than the way most of our peers are trying to grow their firms today."
The Wrap
KKR's transformation reflects a broader evolution in alternative assets, as major firms move beyond traditional private equity into permanent capital vehicles and retail distribution. Bae's measured optimism about 2025 deployment opportunities, despite macro headwinds, underscores the advantage large-scale global platforms have in navigating market volatility while pursuing long-term strategic goals.
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