Brookfield Corporation

Brookfield Corporation (BN) is the parent entity that owns the majority of Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) and directly holds its own investment portfolio. In May 2024, BAM was separated into a pure-play asset manager and listed publicly on the NYSE and TSX, with the corporation retaining a controlling 75% stake. The corporation earns both the fee-related revenue from BAM and the returns on its own permanent capital deployed alongside the listed partnerships.

Permanent capital refers to equity that has no requirement to be returned to investors on a fixed schedule, unlike traditional private equity funds that typically liquidate after 10 to 12 years. Flatt structures Brookfield's operations around publicly traded partnerships that can hold assets indefinitely. This lets the firm compound value through long-duration asset management — upgrading a port over two decades, for example — rather than chasing IRR through quick asset sales.

Yes, and the alignment is structural. Brookfield Corporation deploys billions of its own capital into every major deal, ensuring losses hit the house alongside investors. Bruce Flatt and senior partners are also among the largest individual shareholders of the parent corporation, a point Flatt emphasizes when describing why the firm avoids short-term fee-chasing behavior.

Brookfield has publicly moved away from opportunistic, short-hold private equity and is a net divestor of traditional fossil-fuel generation assets, shifting that capital into renewables and transition infrastructure. The firm does not operate hedge fund strategies or offer liquid-alternative mutual funds. Its credit business stays in senior and asset-backed lending, avoiding unsecured consumer credit and highly leveraged trading strategies.

Brookfield's primary sourcing advantage is its in-house operating capability across 30-plus countries. Regional CEOs running offices in São Paulo, Mumbai, London, and Sydney report directly to the executive team and bring proprietary, complex, often distressed situations that require operational turnaround — deals that auction processes rarely produce. The firm also leverages its network of listed subsidiary boards for corporate carve-outs and take-private transactions.

Brookfield acquired a majority stake in Oaktree Capital Management in 2019, gaining Howard Marks's distressed-credit franchise. Oaktree operates with investment autonomy under its own brand, management, and LP base, but Brookfield consolidates the assets and distributes Oaktree strategies alongside its own credit products. The deal expanded Brookfield's credit AUM to over $300 billion and added long-dated insurance and pension fund relationships.

Bruce Flatt sets the capital-allocation strategy as CEO of the corporation. Brian Kingston runs Brookfield Asset Management as CEO and oversees the publicly listed partnerships. Each vertical has a dedicated CEO — Sam Pollock for infrastructure, Connor Teskey for renewables, Anuj Ranjan for private equity — who chairs the investment committee for that partnership. Major cross-vertical commitments require Flatt and the board's approval.