Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Carlyle (CG):

1. A super-exclusive, private version of Fidelity or Vanguard, investing in private companies and real estate instead of public stocks and bonds.

2. Like Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, but Carlyle buys companies to improve and sell them for profit, rather than holding them long-term.

3. An investment firm that acts like a private version of Goldman Sachs' mergers & acquisitions department, but actually buys, operates, and sells whole private companies and assets for its investors.

• Global Private Equity: Carlyle manages investment funds that acquire and operate private companies across various sectors and geographies with the aim of creating long-term value.
• Global Credit: Carlyle manages investment funds focused on diverse credit strategies, including corporate private credit, structured credit, and distressed debt.
• Investment Solutions: Carlyle manages funds of funds and secondary funds that invest in other private equity funds or acquire existing limited partnership interests.
• Real Assets: Carlyle manages investment funds that invest in real estate, infrastructure, and energy and natural resources projects and companies.

Carlyle (symbol: CG) is a global investment firm that primarily serves institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals by managing capital on their behalf across various private equity, credit, and real asset funds. As such, its "customers" are its Limited Partners (LPs) who commit capital to these funds.

Carlyle predominantly sells to other companies and institutional organizations. However, due to the confidential nature of client relationships in the asset management industry, Carlyle does not publicly disclose the specific names of its "major customers" or individual Limited Partners. The investor base for private equity firms like Carlyle is typically highly diversified across numerous institutions to avoid over-reliance on any single investor.

Therefore, while specific names of customer companies cannot be provided, the primary categories of institutional investors that constitute Carlyle's customer base include:

• Public and Corporate Pension Funds: These funds manage retirement savings for employees and are major allocators to private markets. Examples include large state pension funds (e.g., CalPERS, CalSTRS in the U.S., ABP in the Netherlands), and corporate pension plans. These entities are typically governmental or quasi-governmental organizations, or private corporate entities, and are generally not publicly traded companies themselves.
• Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs): State-owned investment funds that manage national savings and surpluses. Prominent examples include the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and Norway's Government Pension Fund Global. These are state-owned entities without public stock symbols.
• Endowments and Foundations: Investment funds belonging to universities, hospitals, and charitable organizations (e.g., Harvard Management Company, Yale University Endowment, Ford Foundation). These are non-profit organizations and do not have public stock symbols.
• Insurance Companies: Financial institutions that invest their policyholders' premiums and reserves. While some insurance companies are publicly traded (e.g., MetLife, symbol: MET; Prudential Financial, symbol: PRU), Carlyle does not disclose which specific insurance companies are its Limited Partners.
• Family Offices and High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs): While these represent individual or family wealth, investments are often made through structured entities (family offices), which can be considered as specific client entities. These are private and do not have public symbols.

Given the nature of its business, Carlyle's primary customers are a diverse set of institutional organizations, and while specific names are not disclosed, the categories listed represent the types of "other companies" and entities it serves.

Harvey M. Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Schwartz is the Chief Executive Officer of Carlyle and a member of its Board of Directors, a role he assumed on February 15, 2023. He previously spent 21 years at Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2018, where his last position was President and Co-Chief Operating Officer. He also held numerous senior leadership positions at Goldman Sachs, including Chief Financial Officer (2012-2017) and Global Co-Head of the Securities Division. Earlier in his career, Mr. Schwartz worked at J. B. Hanauer & Co., First Interregional Equity Corporation, and Citicorp from 1990 to 1997.

John C. Redett, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Strategy

Mr. Redett became Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Strategy at Carlyle, effective October 1, 2023. He joined Carlyle in 2007 as an investor on the Global Financial Services team. He served as the sole Head of Global Financial Services since 2020 and was Co-Head of Global Financial Services from 2016 to 2020. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Redett worked at Goldman Sachs from 2005 to 2007 and JPMorgan from 2000 to 2005. He has been deeply involved in the operations and management of many financial services businesses throughout his 25-year career in the financial services industry.

Lindsay LoBue, Chief Operating Officer

Ms. LoBue is the Chief Operating Officer of Carlyle. She previously served as Deputy COO of Carlyle from February 2024 to June 2024. Before joining Carlyle, Ms. LoBue spent over 20 years at Goldman Sachs, where she was most recently an Advisory Director and also served as a Partner in the Global Markets division, responsible for leading and managing client-facing businesses.

Mark Jenkins, Head of Global Credit

Mr. Jenkins is the Head of Global Credit at Carlyle and a member of the Leadership Committee. He joined Carlyle in 2016. Prior to Carlyle, Mr. Jenkins was a Senior Managing Director at CPPIB (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) where he led the Global Private Investment group, chaired the Credit Investment Committee and Private Investments Committee, and managed the Portfolio Value Creation group.

Jeff Nedelman, Global Head of Client Business

Mr. Nedelman is the Global Head of Client Business at Carlyle and a member of the Leadership Committee and New Products Committee. He joined Carlyle in 2023. Before joining Carlyle, he was a Partner and Senior Managing Director at Certares from 2020 to 2023.

Heightened regulatory scrutiny and the potential implementation of new rules by bodies like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) specifically targeting private fund advisors.

The SEC has proposed a comprehensive set of new rules for private fund advisers that aim to increase transparency, prohibit certain preferential treatments among investors, and mandate more rigorous audits and disclosures. These proposals, if adopted, could significantly increase compliance costs, restrict existing business practices, and potentially impact the profitability and operational flexibility of firms like Carlyle. Specific proposals include requiring quarterly statements detailing performance, fees, and expenses; mandating annual audits of private funds; and prohibiting certain activities deemed to create conflicts of interest or disadvantages for investors (e.g., charging fees for unperformed services, seeking indemnification for negligence). The current SEC leadership has made increasing oversight of private markets a clear priority, signaling a shift towards more stringent regulation.

Carlyle (symbol: CG) primarily operates within three main product and service segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit, and Global Investment Solutions.

Addressable Market Sizes:

Global Private Equity

• The global Private Equity market was approximately $5.3 trillion in 2023 and is expected to reach $6 trillion by the end of 2024.
• Another estimate valued the global private equity market at $445.4 billion in 2022, with projections to reach $1.1 trillion by 2032.
• In 2024, the global private equity market was estimated at USD 540.72 billion, with a prediction to increase to approximately USD 1,349.95 billion by 2034.
• A further valuation placed the global private equity market size at USD 787 billion in 2024, with an estimated growth to USD 1,670.43 billion by 2033.
• The North American private equity market alone accounted for $3.4 trillion in 2023, and it currently holds the largest market share globally.

Global Credit

• The global private credit market has surpassed US$3 trillion in assets under management (AUM).
• Global private credit assets under management quadrupled over the past decade, reaching US$2.1 trillion in 2023.
• North America accounts for approximately 70% of the global private credit raised since 2008.
• More broadly, the global credit market (which includes bonds and bank loans) was estimated at $119 trillion worldwide in 2021, with the U.S. market at $46 trillion.
• The global consumer credit market was valued at USD 12.0 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 17.0 billion by 2033. North America currently dominates the consumer credit market, holding over 35% in 2024.

Global Investment Solutions

• The global Investment Management Solutions market was recorded at $5,461.74 million in 2021, is expected to reach $8,485.1 million by the end of 2025, and $20,479 million by 2033.
• The North American Investment Management Solutions market held 39.69% of the global market revenue in 2025.
• The global Investment Management Software Market is projected to grow from $7.59 billion in 2024 to $25.9 billion by 2035.
• The global investment advisory service market size was approximately USD 80 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 160 billion by 2032. North America holds the largest share of this market, valued at approximately USD 30 billion in 2023.

1. Growth in Assets Under Management (AUM) and Fee-Related Earnings (FRE): Carlyle consistently highlights increasing its AUM and, by extension, its fee-related earnings. The firm has reported strong organic inflows across its investment platform, reaching record AUM levels. This growth is fueled by successful fundraising for new and larger funds, such as its flagship U.S. buyout fund which is on track to exceed its target by early 2026, and its latest secondaries fund, which is significantly larger than its predecessor. The activation of fees on these new funds will directly contribute to revenue expansion. Carlyle anticipates full-year inflows to reach $50 billion for 2025, an increase from prior outlooks, supporting continued FRE growth.
2. Expansion of Global Credit and Insurance Solutions: Carlyle's Global Credit platform is a significant growth engine, demonstrating rapid expansion and strong performance. The firm has seen substantial inflows into direct lending and opportunistic credit strategies, as well as growth driven by CLO issuance and asset-backed finance. Additionally, Carlyle is strategically scaling its Insurance Solutions business, improving access to its AlpInvest funds for insurance clients and benefiting from the Fortitude strategic advisory services agreement. These diversified credit and insurance offerings are expected to continue driving a larger portion of the firm's fee-related earnings.
3. Growth in Global Wealth Platform: Carlyle is actively focusing on expanding its global wealth distribution capabilities. This includes increasing headcount in this area and experiencing significant inflows into its global wealth products, including evergreen funds. The firm reported record wealth inflows and expects to build on this success in 2025 with the launch of new flagship wealth products and new partnerships.
4. Increased Private Equity Investment Activity and Realizations: While there can be quarter-to-quarter fluctuations in private equity exits, Carlyle's management anticipates a pickup in private equity deal activity and realizations in the coming quarters. This includes a strong backlog of announced transactions and expected events like the IPO of a portfolio company (e.g., Medline). A more active exit environment and robust underlying portfolio performance are expected to drive significant value creation and, consequently, performance revenues.

Share Repurchases

• Carlyle has cumulatively repurchased $909.85 million under its ongoing share buyback program since October 2021.
• In February 2024, the Board reset the company's total share repurchase authorization to $1.4 billion.
• As of September 30, 2025, approximately $0.4 billion of this repurchase capacity remained.

Share Issuance

• In March 2022, Carlyle issued 4.2 million shares of common stock, valued at $194.5 million, as part of the purchase price for the acquisition of management contracts from CBAM.
• The company issues shares in connection with the vesting of restricted stock units; for example, 2.7 million net common shares were issued in August 2025, and 0.3 million are expected in November 2025.

Outbound Investments

• In 2025, Carlyle acquired Intelliflo, a UK-based wealth management software provider, for up to $205 million, with $135 million paid at closing.
• Carlyle's Global Credit platform made a $1.3 billion strategic investment in Trucordia, an insurance brokerage, in June 2025.
• Carlyle formed a $2 billion partnership with Diversified Energy Company (DEC) in June 2025, focusing on Proven Developed Producing (PDP) energy assets.

Capital Expenditures

• Carlyle Group reported quarterly capital expenditures of $17.5 million for June 2025.
• Capital expenditures are utilized for general corporate purposes.
• As an asset management firm, Carlyle's capital expenditures are generally modest and primarily support ongoing business operations such as office infrastructure and technology.