Oaktree's AUM falls 1% for quarter, drops 2% for year

Oaktree Capital Group's assets under management totaled $118.6 billion as of March 31, down 1% from three months earlier and down 2% from 12 months earlier, according to the alternative investment firm's earnings report released Thursday.

Oaktree attributed the $1 billion quarter-over-quarter decrease to net outflows from its open-end funds and $2.6 billion of distributions to closed-end fund limited partners and uncalled capital commitments. These were partially offset by $3.1 billion in market-value gains and $1.9 billion attributable to its stake in DoubleLine Capital.

Also during the quarter, on March 13, Oaktree announced the acquisition of 62% of its business by Brookfield Asset Management in a $4.7 billion stock and cash transaction. Oaktree's board of directors has unanimously recommended that its unitholders approve the transaction. The deal is expected to close at the end of 2019, subject to the majority approval of Oaktree's Class A and Class B unitholders.

The firm had uncalled capital commitments of $18.3 billion as of March 31, compared with $19.6 billion a year earlier.

Management fees were $190 million in the first quarter, a 2.2% drop from fourth quarter and a 6.3% decrease from the first quarter of 2018. Incentive income was $385 million in the quarter, up 187% from the previous quarter and up 63.5% from the year-earlier quarter.

Oaktree earned GAAP net income attributable to Oaktree Capital Group Class A unitholders was $47.3 million, down from $74.5 million in the prior quarter and down from $52.7 million in the first quarter of 2018.