FTSE 100 giant ICG bulks up as demand for alternatives grows
Global alternative asset manager Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) experienced a strong first quarter of its 2025 financial year, as investor appetite for private equity-style returns continued to grow.
The London-listed firm raised $3.4bn (£2.5bn) in the three months to June 30.
This was led by ICG’s Europe IX fund, which targets mid-caps across the region, and Infrastructure Europe II, focusing on core and core-plus infrastructure investments.
Assets under management (AUM) topped $123bn, up three per cent for the quarter and swelling 15 per cent year-on-year.
This came as fee-earning from AUM jumped four per cent to $82bn, driven by fundraising and deployments.
The firm’s dry powder – referring to capital that has not yet been invested – reached $34bn giving the business a hefty war chest to pursue new investments.
ICG pegged global demand from current and new clients to the “strategy’s track record of private equity-like returns with downside protection and high DPI – a measures of how much actual cash has been returned to investors relative to what they put in.
Asset managers feel squeeze
The FTSE 100 firm’s strong first quarter follows a bruising period for fund managers, which have flagged the drastically low sentiment towards the London Stock Exchange.
In May, leading fund managers met with Downing Street to discuss issues in the City market.
Nick Lawson, chief executive of investment group Ocean Wall, described UK equity markets as being at “rock bottom” after a meeting with Varun Chandra, the government’s special adviser on business.
He noted that before 2000, UK equities made up 45 per cent of UK pension fund holdings, but that number has since fallen to three per cent, causing a lack of liquidity and a drop in value for British stocks.
Asset managers across the LSE have also been stung by fatal outflows.
Liontrust’s profit slumped 28 per cent to £48.3m after the firm suffered nearly £5bn in outflows over the last year. The vast share came from retail funds, taking total assets under management and advice to £22.6bn.