Brookfield Asset Management set up a new U.S. broker-dealer as part of the firm’s plan to expand its $300 billion credit business.
The company registered the New York-based entity, Brookfield Securities, last month, according to a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filing. It will serve as both a financial advisor and an underwriter of corporate debt.
The broker-dealer will be part of a unit that Brookfield formed this year to house a variety of credit-related businesses, including its infrastructure and real estate lending funds as well as partnerships with Oaktree Capital Management and LCM Partners, among others. Brookfield expects credit to be its fastest-growing business and to play a critical role in the firm’s drive to reach $1 trillion of fee-paying assets by 2028.
Brookfield Credit, led by Craig Noble, is counting on the broker-dealer to expand into new areas, in part by participating as an underwriter in bond offerings, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Brookfield Securities will structure and arrange a variety of securities, including investment-grade bonds sold through private placements to insurance companies as well as more esoteric securities such as preferred equity, the person said.
Brookfield Securities will work as an advisor in “facilitating” financings, credit solutions, financial restructurings, asset sales and divestitures, according to the filing.
The broker-dealer will primarily syndicate debt tied to areas in which Brookfield invests, including infrastructure, real estate, renewables and private equity, the person said. Brookfield funds and insurance companies will invest in some of the debt underwritten by the new entity.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.