The share price has fallen by 35%, while AUM is growing at a record pace. What is the market overlooking?

While Blackstone and KKR have been talked about as the faces of alternative asset management in recent years, one player has quietly taken the private credit crown - a Los Angeles firm. Led by co-founder Michael Arougheti, it manages $644 billion in assets and surpassed $1 billion in management fees per quarter for the first time ever in the first quarter of 2026. Yet the stock has fallen by about a third over the past twelve months and trades well below analysts' consensus price target.

The market is addressing a simple question: is the price drop an opportunity to buy a quality compounder with 20% dividend growth at a reasonable price, or a warning sign that the golden era of private credit is ending and trading at deservedly more modest multiples?

TOP points of analysis

• Record Q1 2026: AUM reached $644bn (+18% YoY), management fees topped $1bn for the first time ever in a quarter and fee-related earnings grew 26%.

• Despite the record, the stock has fallen by about a third over the past…