The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

John Redett: Yes. Brian, it’s John. I would think of this more as a 2024 run rate number. I mean, look, I’ve been in the seat five weeks, as I said earlier, and we really just started this process. That’s why I kind of referred to it as the early innings of this kind of expense review process. In terms of competition, I mean, look, we’re a human capital business. Our largest expense is obviously compensation. It’s certainly something that we’re very focused on. We’re very aware of what our competitors have done on the compensation front. And I would just say it’s part of the overall expense review going forward. And again, look, I think in overall, the $40 million number is largely comp-driven, compensation-driven and kind of, I would say, 15% of it’s roughly G&A.

Operator: Our next question comes from Brian Mckenna with JMP Securities.

Brian Mckenna: So Investment Solutions is in the middle of a strong fundraising cycle. And we should see some nice expansion into 2024. But how should we think about growth here longer term? And are there any other strategic opportunities within this business away from the core strategies that could drive some incremental growth over time?

Harvey Schwartz: Look, so the short answer to that is yes. So it’s — look, it’s a fantastic team. It’s a great business. It’s kind of where the puck is, right? Primary across the industry is a little slower. Secondary activity is a lot higher. Our expectation is that all be sustained for a while. There are a number of different business adjacencies that fit nicely here that the team is growing and building. So I would expect to see this as an area of growth over the next several years, and we have a fantastic team.

Operator: Our next question comes from Steven Chubak with Wolfe Research.

Steven Chubak: I wanted to ask on the FRE margin outlook? And maybe just at the risk of being a dead horse, just want to ask on expenses and dig in a bit further, whether the $40 million of run rate cost savings contemplate any incremental investment? So whether it’s a gross versus net savings figure, given you do have a lot of growth priorities as well, Harvey, that you outlined? And how we should think about the trajectory for FRE margins in ’24 versus this quarter’s jumping off point, given the realization of some of those efficiency benefits?

Harvey Schwartz: Yes. So I mean, John talked on fair bit of this. I think — I don’t want to disappoint you, but we’re not going to give you real specifics on 2024. I would tell you that there’s a couple of levers that we’re working on, which when we’re ready, we’ll dig into a little bit more. But I would say there’s sort of three very, very big, high-level things happening. One is the run rate savings. And while that’s meaningful, and I’m really proud, this is not just about cutting expenses. When you look at the transaction that the team has completed in Insurance. As you look at that transaction over the next two years, that will drive about $40 million of incremental FRE adjust in that transaction. In the undrawn capital that John talked about, that will drive about $90 million of top line fees, the $10 billion.

So there’s a lot happening in terms of FRE growth. And then, of course, you have the fundraising that we’ve talked about. And as I said, I feel really good about the momentum. I don’t know I thought I would nine months in. But there’s work to do. There’s a lot of work to do.

Operator: Our next question comes from Dan Fannon with Jefferies.

Dan Fannon: Harvey, you mentioned private wealth as an area that you can be much larger in $3 billion year-to-date in close. Can you talk about what’s in the market today? And then how you see that evolving from a product perspective and what you think is a reasonable goal in terms of organic growth from that channel?