Fortress Investment sees 2.2% AUM drop in quarter excluding Logan Circle sale

Fortress Investment Group's assets under management declined by 50% in the quarter and 49% in the year ended Sept. 30 to $36.1 billion, the firm's earnings report released Thursday showed.

The decrease in assets under management during the third quarter was due primarily to the sale of Logan Circle Partners, which managed $37.1 billion at the time of the sale to MetLife.

Adjusted for the exclusion of Logan Circle Partners' assets, Fortress Investment Group's AUM declined 2.2% in the quarter and 1.6% for the year ended Sept. 30.

Contributing to the decline in the quarter were $2.1 billion of capital distributions to investors and $200 million each in distributions to investors in redeeming accounts and a capital reset adjustment, according to the earnings statement.

Offsetting asset declines in the quarter were $600 million of investment gains and a total of $1 billion in follow-on contributions and inflows.

Of the firm's three strategy groups, only the liquid hedge fund family experienced asset growth — 11% to $5.1 billion — in the quarter ended Sept. 30.

By contrast, assets managed in credit strategies fell 5% to $16.8 billion in the quarter, while private equity/permanent capital strategies dropped 3% to $14.2 billion.

For the year ended Sept. 30, assets managed in hedge funds showed the most growth at 13%, followed by private equity/permanent capital with a 2% increase. Credit-oriented funds, which includes credit-oriented and private equity hybrid funds, experienced an 8% decline.

The earnings statement said Fortress Group's previously announced acquisition by Softbank Group Corp. is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter 2017. Fortress Investment Group will operate as an independent business within Softbank.

The firm's GAAP revenue was $254 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2017, compared to $247 million in the prior quarter and $261 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2016. GAAP net income was $190 million in the quarter, compared to $32 million in the previous quarter and $58 million in the third quarter of 2016.