GCM Grosvenor (NASDAQ:GCMG) reported higher assets, fundraising, revenue and fee-related earnings for the second quarter of 2026, with executives pointing to broad-based demand across its investment strategies and client channels.
Chairman and CEO Michael Sacks said the firm ended the quarter with $97 billion in assets under management and $78 billion in fee-paying assets under management, each approximately 13% higher than a year earlier. Growth came from all investment strategies and investor channels, he said.
Credit Leads Fundraising
Credit was the largest contributor to second-quarter fundraising, accounting for more than $900 million of the $2.3 billion raised. Credit fundraising totaled $1.4 billion in the first half. Jon Levin, who discussed the credit business on the call, said the platform managed nearly $18 billion in assets at quarter-end.
During the quarter, GCM Grosvenor closed its inaugural credit secondaries fund, raising approximately $1.2 billion across the flagship fund and related vehicles. Levin said the firm sees an expanding opportunity in credit secondaries, which provide liquidity by acquiring investors’ fund interests or specified assets at discounts.
Levin acknowledged increased scrutiny of portions of private credit, including direct lending, valuation practices, software-sector exposure, leverage and liquidity in evergreen semi-liquid products. However, he said GCM Grosvenor has relatively limited exposure to those areas.
The firm reviews about 1,400 investment opportunities annually across the private credit market, Levin said. Its credit portfolios combine primary funds, co-investments, secondaries and direct transactions, with diversification by strategy, geography, vintage year and industry.
Management also highlighted demand from individual investors and insurers. Those channels represented 23% and 18%, respectively, of year-to-date fundraising, while accounting for 5% and 4%, respectively, of assets under management at the start of the year.
Revenue and Earnings Growth
Fee-related revenue rose 11% year over year to $111 million in the second quarter. Fee-related earnings increased 21% to $50 million, while adjusted net income grew 22% from the second quarter of 2025, according to Sacks.
Fee-paying AUM reached $78 billion, while contracted but not yet fee-paying AUM rose 11% from a year earlier to $9.7 billion. Pam, who presented the firm’s financial results, said that committed capital provides a base for future fee-paying AUM growth as it is deployed.
Private markets management fees increased 10% year over year in the second quarter. The company expects private markets management fees to rise in the mid-single digits year over year in the third quarter and does not expect material catch-up fees during the second half of 2026.
Absolute Return Strategies, or ARS, management fees increased 11% year over year in the quarter. Since ARS fees are generally charged quarterly in advance based on beginning-of-quarter assets, management expects third-quarter ARS management fees to increase about 10% sequentially, equating to nearly 20% year-over-year growth.
The firm reported a 45% fee-related earnings margin. Compensation and benefits associated with fee-related earnings totaled about $38 million in the second quarter and are expected to increase by roughly $1 million in the third quarter. Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses were almost $22 million and are expected to remain relatively consistent in the third quarter.
SpaceX Investment Affects ARS Results
Sacks also detailed GCM Grosvenor’s exposure to SpaceX through its ARS and private markets portfolios. The firm invested approximately $150 million through primary fund allocations, investments in dedicated vehicles and secondary-market share purchases. The average cost was approximately $6.37 per share, and management said the holdings were valued at about $3.5 billion as of the prior week’s market close.
The gains have not been realized and are generally subject to lock-up restrictions, Sacks said. For most of the position, the timing and form of any exit is controlled by underlying managers.
The ARS multi-strategy composite generated gross returns of about 14% in the quarter including the SpaceX impact and 10% excluding it. Year-to-date gross returns were approximately 15% including SpaceX and 11% excluding it, according to Sacks.
Management said the SpaceX investment was the firm’s largest single-issuer gain in its history, but cautioned against treating it as representative of other potential IPO-related investments. In response to an analyst question, Sacks said that “nothing about SpaceX is typical.”
Annual performance fees totaled approximately $7 million in the first half. The firm estimated $35 million to $40 million in unrealized annual performance fees based on recent ARS performance, assuming a SpaceX share price of $110. Management said every additional $10 move in SpaceX’s share price would affect performance fees by about $4 million.
As of June 30, gross unrealized carried interest was $965 million, with $493 million attributable to the firm’s share. Private-markets portfolios are marked on a one-quarter lag, and management said the next quarter’s unrealized carry balance could rise meaningfully due to the June 30 valuation of SpaceX exposure.
Capital Returns and Outlook
GCM Grosvenor maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.12 per share. It repurchased 1.6 million shares for approximately $17 million during the quarter and had $55 million remaining under its repurchase authorization.
Sacks said the firm remains “long origination” and has sourcing capacity that exceeds its current investment pace. While private-market deal activity and realizations have not fully recovered, he said the middle market has performed better than the broader private equity market and could see improving activity and realizations over time.
Management said it remains confident in its profitability objectives, citing management-fee growth, potential incentive-fee realization, fundraising momentum, operating leverage and its dividend.
About GCM Grosvenor (NASDAQ:GCMG)
GCM Grosvenor is a global alternative asset management firm that specializes in customized investment solutions across a range of private markets and hedge fund strategies. The firm partners with institutional clients—including pension funds, endowments, insurers and sovereign wealth funds—to design and implement portfolios that span private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit and multi‐strategy hedge fund products. Through its multi‐manager platforms and direct co‐investment vehicles, GCM Grosvenor provides diversified access to opportunities that can enhance returns and manage risk in client portfolios.
Founded in 1971 as Grosvenor Capital Management, the firm has built a track record of sourcing, structuring and monitoring alternative investments on behalf of its clients.
