We recently published a list of Billionaire Ken Fisher’s 10 Finance Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) stands against other billionaire Ken Fisher’s finance stock picks with huge upside potential.
The global financial industry includes banking, insurance, asset management, and capital market sectors, and plays a significant role in supporting economic activity. According to McKinsey, the banking industry handles assets worth $400 trillion as of 2025, bringing in about $7 trillion and $1.1 trillion in annual revenue and profits, respectively. On the other hand, the broader financial services sector is on the high, increasing more than 16% in the last year (as of writing this article), beating the broader market’s 6% return for the same period. This robust growth is expected to continue throughout the remainder of 2025, with the momentum driven by dropping interest rates, cooling off inflation, and investors’ faith in the sector, creating upside potential across various segments.
Despite brief macroeconomic uncertainty, the U.S. economy improved more than expected in 2024, with GDP growth hitting about 2.7%. Although the progress is expected to slow down in 2025, with growth likely dropping to around 1.5%, the financial sector is holding strong, supported by expected Fed rate cuts, steadier regulations, and a comeback in market activity. Moreover, record consumer debt of $17.7 trillion and increasing corporate refinancing needs are expected to affect borrowing patterns.
Looking ahead, financial companies stand strong to gain from the revival in financial markets, as recent forecasts indicate M&A activity, buyouts, and private lending picking up steam in 2025. Furthermore, companies are making strategic deals and investing in AI technology, fueling rapid growth in private markets. Additionally, private credit assets under management could double soon, as more businesses and individuals seek financing outside traditional banks. This surge in deals and fundraising follows several quiet years and sets up major financial players for solid profits.
In contrast, the global insurance sector is dealing with economic turbulence, high inflation, and unpredictable interest rates. Personal property and casualty insurance grew 9.5% between 2022-2023, reaching $1.1 trillion, driven mostly by rate increases rather than new businesses. Thus, the sector is focused on innovation and geographic diversification, expanding into emerging Asian and Latin American markets. At the same time, in the U.S., affordability concerns are forcing insurers and other sectors to cut costs and improve their digital services.
As such, innovation and digital transformation drive the financial sector, as banks alone have poured over $600 billion into tech upgrades, outspending even tech companies on IT, as reported by McKinsey. Despite this massive investment, labor productivity has dropped 4% over the last 15 years. This troubling decline has created pressure to make these tech investments pay off. Looking ahead, as AI, automation, and cloud are getting adopted, companies are expected to transform their business models and enhance digital services to boost efficiency and customer reach.
Meanwhile, new tariff policies are shaking up global markets, further triggering the macroeconomic uncertainty. Billionaire Ken Fisher is still critical of these measures as he argues that it is unnecessary to worry about them. He posted the following statement on X.
“What Trump unveiled on Wednesday is stupid, wrong, arrogantly extreme, ignorant trade-wise and addressing a non-problem with misguided tools. It will fade and fail and the fear is bigger than the problem, which from here is bullish.”
He strongly believes financial stocks may bounce back once the initial shock passes by, drawing a historical parallel: “It may well be this goes something like the 1998 stock market correction leading to a 26% annual return.” As interest rates drop and economic pressures ease, investors are eyeing financial companies for potential recovery gains and strategic long-term positions.
Our Methodology
To compile this list, we reviewed Ken Fisher’s SEC Q4 2024 13F filings. We picked 10 stocks that have the highest upside potential from their current levels as of April 22. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order based on their highest analyst upside potential, while also laying out hedge fund sentiment for these stocks according to Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A modern looking financial adviser sitting in front of a trading monitor, gesturing to a group of investors.
KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Upside Potential: 47.96%
KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) is a global alternative asset manager, investing in private equity, real estate, credit, and infrastructure sectors. With investments across various industries, such as tech, consumer goods, healthcare, and natural resources, the company seeks buyout deals, growth opportunities, and credit investments in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its expanding private wealth division and growth in real estate and infrastructure sectors have allowed it to become a major player in the finance sector globally.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, KKR posted strong results with fee-related earnings hitting $3.66 per share and adjusted income reaching $4.70 per share, both nearly 40% up from the previous year. In the fourth quarter alone, KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) earned $0.94 per share and collected $906 million in management fees. It also raised $114 billion in 2024, its second-best fundraising year ever, and boosted its dividend payment to $0.74 per share. Moreover, the company’s private wealth segment doubled AUM in the K-Series to $16 billion, showing strong growth with individual investors.
Furthermore, KKR’s holdings and capital markets units did well as infrastructure and private equity investments grew 14% yearly. Monetization activity jumped over 40% YoY, and capital markets revenue topped $1 billion for the first time. KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) expects to earn at least $4.50 in FRE per share by 2026 as it keeps expanding.
KKR is a part of the Ken Fisher Stock Portfolio, which indicates confidence and trust in its long-term potential. As mergers and acquisitions are on the rise and more individuals are investing, KKR’s broad platform gives it an edge. With global reach and steady earnings growth, KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR) looks promising among financial companies with room to grow.
Overall, KKR ranks 4th on our list of billionaire Ken Fisher’s finance stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of KKR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than KKR but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.