Brookfield Corporation $BN (+0%) reported an impressive financial performance for the first quarter of 2025, with distributable earnings (DE) up 27% to $1.549 billion ($0.98 per share), compared to $1.216 billion in the prior year. DE before realizations grew by 30% to USD 1.301 billion, reflecting the strong organic performance in the three core businesses: Asset Management, Wealth Solutions and Operating Businesses.

Asset Management: This business, led by Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), generated USD 684 million in DE, driven by record fee-related earnings of USD 698 million (+26%), as fee-based capital increased 20% to USD 549 billion. Inflows of $25 billion in the quarter, including a $16 billion loan fund and a $16 billion real estate fund, underscore the strong demand for Brookfield's funds. Accumulated unrealized carried interest grew 14% to $11.6 billion, with $189 million realized in the quarter, signaling future return potential.

Wealth Solutions: Brookfield Wealth Solutions (BWS) delivered $430 million in DE, an increase of 58%, driven by $4 billion in annuity sales and a $133 billion insurance asset base. A 5.7% portfolio yield, which is 1.8% above the cost of funding, generated a 15% return on $11.5 billion of invested capital. The rotation of USD 8 billion into higher yielding investments and the growth of statutory capital to USD 16 billion strengthen the financial position.

Operating Businesses: This segment generated $426 million in DE, up 26%, supported by stable growth in real estate (3% same-store NOI), renewable energy (BEP), infrastructure (BIP) and private equity (BBU). Brookfield closed 9 million square feet of leases and the North American residential business generated $640 million from sales as it evolves to a lower capital model.

Strategic Initiatives:

• Acquisitions: Subsequent to quarter end, Brookfield acquired a majority stake in Angel Oak, a leading credit manager with $18 billion in assets under management, to strengthen BAM's credit platform.

• Asset sales: Brookfield completed $22 billion of asset sales, predominantly at or above book value, and realized $1.027 billion of capital gains in LTM, primarily from the sale of BAM shares to American Equity Life shareholders in the second quarter of 2024.

• Capital allocation: In the LTM, Brookfield returned $1.577 billion to shareholders, including $509 million in dividends and $1.068 billion for the repurchase of 21.7 million shares, of which $569 million was used in Q1 for 10.4 million shares. The company invested $8.532 billion in its businesses, including $2.539 billion in Asset Management, $2.461 billion in Wealth Solutions and $1.955 billion in Operating Businesses, primarily for debt repayments and real estate investments.

• Financing: Brookfield completed $30 billion in financings, including a $500 million 30-year unsecured bond with the tightest spread to date. In the LTM, a US$700 million 30-year subordinated note and a US$1 billion non-recourse term loan were issued.

• Liquidity and Capital Structure: Brookfield has $165 billion of available capital, including $5.5 billion of corporate liquidity ($2.1 billion in cash and investments, $3.4 billion in unutilized credit facilities). Corporate debt totaled $13.46 billion with an average interest rate of 4.7% and a maturity of 15 years, supplemented by $4.33 billion of perpetual preferred stock with a 4.9% cost. The debt-to-capital ratio is 14% based on market capitalization.

• Wealth Solutions Expansion: BWS was awarded a Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) license in the UK, the first dedicated PRT license since 2007, and is targeting a market of over £500 billion over the next ten years.

Brookfield is targeting DE growth of over 15% per annum and remains optimistic about its ability to grow further through strong fundraisings, strategic acquisitions and asset sales. The company emphasizes its conservative capital structure and record capital deployment capacity as key factors for future success.

Since dear @SAUgut77 nominated me, here are my #grüneostern .

YTD is a small minus of 1.5%, in TTWROR even a small plus of 0.5%.

I slimmed down my portfolio quite a bit in the first few months of 2025 and the "crash" came in quite handy, even if I was very cautious.

I'm still staying away from big tech and somehow even the sale doesn't make the stocks palatable to me.

What I find really interesting at the moment $WPM (+2.68%) and other gold royalty companies. But also $BN (+0%) smiles at me.

Otherwise, I'm looking forward to the $PM (+3.16%) earnings (of course I'll have a great post about that)

So I'm completely satisfied.

I think most people have already been nominated and to be honest I can only think of the @ of @RealMichaelScott comes to mind

[What do you think of private equity? I've been looking at it for days and am considering building up a position. I'm waiting for a correction as the shares have been running a bit hot].

Private equity is an asset class in which capital is invested in unlisted companies in order to promote their growth or to restructure them. Typical investment areas of private equity firms are corporate takeovers, growth financing, restructuring, real estate, infrastructure and corporate succession.

In the past, high minimum investments of over €10,000 and limited transparency were major hurdles.

Today, private equity investments are easier as there are "low-cost ETFs (0.7 TER)" and platforms that enable access even for small investors.

In recent years, private equity has become a popular investment option as investors can benefit from the high returns and stability provided by strategic investments in private companies. In addition, participation in unlisted companies can provide further diversification. Three of the best known and largest companies in the private equity sector are KKR, Blackstone and Brookfield.

• KKR Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
  $KKR (-1.93%) is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms and has established itself as a leader in the global financial landscape. The firm is known for its broad-based investment strategy targeting a variety of sectors, including infrastructure, real estate and energy.

• Blackstone
  $BX (-1%) the largest private equity firm in the world, has also expanded its focus to these sectors, but is particularly known for its real estate and real estate funds.

• Brookfield Corporation $BN (+0%) is another major player known for its broadly diversified strategy, investing heavily in infrastructure and renewable energy alongside private equity. All three companies offer strong long-term growth opportunities, but Blackstone stands out due to its sheer size and market leadership.

Investing in shares or ETFs?

• One listed ETF that invests in private equity is the "Listed Private Equity ETF" $IPRV (-2.01%) This ETF offers broad exposure to listed private equity companies, making it a practical option for investors seeking access to the asset class without having to invest directly in private funds. Over the last 20 years, the average return on private equity funds has been around 12-15% per annum.
• The disadvantage is that although ETFs are cheaper than funds, they offer lower returns and are expensive compared to other ETFs.

Conclusion

Advantages:

• Potential for strong company improvements and increases in value.
• High potential returns due to growth potential.
• Access to exclusive investment opportunities.

Disadvantages:

• Higher risk due to corporate restructuring or market conditions.
• High minimum investment and costs with traditional private equity funds. ETF with 0.7 TER.

Interesting videos on the topic of private equity:

CEO Brookfield Corporation

https://youtu.be/vmt1Li1Rnes?si=CWbRjgbW2Op3_3Ig

KKR Head of Europe

https://youtu.be/3tOR4SKdP0E?si=ohmesMorNYBsGZH1

More on the topic at @JtoTheB

https://getqu.in/8kAzee/

Let's see if the decision continues to pay off so well.

At the time, the proceeds were invested exclusively in $BN (+0%) at a price of around 43 euros.

I am still bullish about $MSCI (+1.42%) but in the current situation it is too highly valued for me with an unconvincing risk/reward ratio.

The earnings will be in $BN (+0%) and $GOOGL (-0.7%) reinvested.

Today I'm going to take a look at uranium stocks from my perspective as a radiation protection engineer:

From today's perspective, the demand for uranium will increase, not decrease, by 2027. Production is currently not keeping pace and demand is very high. I therefore see uranium share prices continuing to rise until 2027.

Which ones are currently popular?

In addition to the strong Cameco $CCO (-3.91%) and Nexgen Energy $NXG there is also Kazatomprom $KZAP . All three have had a very good rally to date and are expected to constantly exceed their all-time high until 2027.

From today's perspective, I think one share is still undervalued alongside Kazatomprom: $YCA (-2.47%) Yellow Cake, these do not produce uranium directly but rather act as holders of uranium and uranium trading.

Cameco: P/E 102, growth 96%, 0.2% div

Nexgen: P/E 45, growth 65%, 0% div

Kazatomprom: P/E 15, 1Y: 46%,4%Div

Yellow Cake: P/E 4, 1Y growth 85%, 0% div

I personally have Cameco in my savings plan, but I think this company and Nexgen are overvalued. I also have shares in Kazatomprom and Yellow Cake.

What does the future look like? Even after 2027, things will not get less for producers. From today's perspective, over 120 new pressurized water reactors of the EPR type will be built by 2035. However, the price will increasingly fall again. Anyone who thinks that Germany is going to stop, I'm afraid I have to put a spanner in the works. Although no conventional reactors are being built and we are in the process of dismantling them, dual-fluid reactors or small SMR-type reactors are. These have the possibility of reusing the nuclear waste. Companies and cooperation with the following companies are required for the construction:

Mitsubishi Heavy $7011 (+4.85%) ( power plant construction)

Hitachi $HIA (power plant construction)

RWE $RWE (+0.39%) (invested in Poland and the Netherlands via Urenco)

Brookfield $BN (+0%) (main shareholder Westinghouse)

Engie Electrabel $ENGI (+4.79%) (ECS)

Mutares SE $MUX (-0.75%) (dismantling of nuclear power plants)

General Electric $GEC (reactor construction (among others)

Others are unfortunately only limited liability companies.

Conventional nuclear waste is also disposed of with other reactor types. However, the process will continue to develop until around 2050.

If you have any further questions, please write to me.

As I don't have any ETFs in my portfolio and have always only invested in individual shares, I really like having holdings in my portfolio. In view of the tense geopolitical situation, increasing deglobalization and general uncertainty, I feel all the more comfortable with this.

My holdings are:

Berkshire Hathaway 🇺🇲 $BRK.B (+0.9%)

Itochu 🇯🇵 $8001 (+3.88%)

Investor AB 🇸🇪 $IVSB

Brookfield Corporation 🇨🇦 $BN (+0%)

Reliance Industries 🇮🇳 $RELIANCE

Do you have any holdings in your portfolio and what are your favorites?

Hey guys,

I would be interested in your opinion on the following topic:

Which stocks would you consider a good addition to $GGRP (+0.77%) ?

At the moment $O (+1.41%)
$MAIN (+0.77%)
$BN (+0%)
$WY (+0.85%) have made it onto my watchlist.

Do you think any of these would complement the Etf well?

Please also suggest any other stocks that come to mind :)

Thanks in advance and have a nice rest of the year!