The Carlyle Group manages a range of different investments, including private equity, hedge funds and real estate. But its bread-and-butter business of private equity was a standout last year.
The big investment firm, which is based in Washington, said on Wednesday that its private equity funds rose in value by 9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing the year’s gains to 30 percent. Its real assets, which include real estate and energy, decreased by 1 percent in the fourth quarter and were up just 1 percent for the year.
The firm’s global market strategies business, which includes hedge funds, also turned in a relatively strong performance, with a gain of 10 percent in the fourth quarter and 28 percent for the year, Carlyle said. The metrics announced on Wednesday are preliminary, the firm said.
Still, the annual gains in Carlyle’s private equity and market strategies businesses were roughly in line with the performance of publicly traded stocks, which had a particularly strong year. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose nearly 10 percent in the fourth quarter, with a gain of almost 30 percent for the year.
Private equity is Carlyle’s oldest business, representing 34 percent of the firm’s $185 billion of assets under management as of Sept. 30. The firm made its name on leveraged buyouts, but it also runs a so-called growth capital business, in which it takes smaller stakes in companies.
Those growth capital funds, a subset of private equity, rose 20 percent in the fourth quarter and 32 percent for the year, Carlyle said.
Carlyle on Wednesday did not elaborate on the reasons behind the performance of its funds in the fourth quarter. Its real assets were weighed down by its energy investments, which declined 3 percent, the firm said.
For the third quarter, the firm reported lower earnings amid a slow period in selling its investments. At that time, Carlyle said it experienced losses in certain real estate investments in Latin America and Europe.
The fund performance announced on Wednesday reflects Carlyle’s so-called carry funds, from which it collects profit.
