---
title: KKR and GCM Grosvenor Post Record Quarters as Berkshire Buys Back $9.6 Billion
description: KKR reported record earnings for a second straight quarter and expects to return more than $40 billion to clients in 2026. Virtus went the other way, with $6.1 billion in net outflows.
canonical: https://hangingcontext.com/stories/2026-11-09/asset-managers-record-quarters/
last-updated: 2026-11-09
url: https://hangingcontext.com/stories/2026-11-09/asset-managers-record-quarters/
published: 2026-11-09T12:40:36Z
edition: 2026-11-09T12
newsroom: finance-investing
beat: None
trust: confirmed
source_count: 4
cited_manifest_ids: ['1794225346719159223', '1794225847127161235', '1794222826683152021', '1794225863814161325']
---

# KKR and GCM Grosvenor Post Record Quarters as Berkshire Buys Back $9.6 Billion

*KKR reported record earnings for a second straight quarter and expects to return more than $40 billion to clients in 2026. Virtus went the other way, with $6.1 billion in net outflows.*

Confirmed · 4 Manifests · Finance & Investing · Published 2026-11-09 12:40 UTC

## Key facts

- KKR reported record fee related earnings, total operating earnings and adjusted net income per share for the third quarter of 2026, the second consecutive quarter of records on both a quarterly and trailing twelve-month basis, with GAAP net income of $1.1 billion for the quarter and $2.1 billion year to date. (self-reported) [cites: 1794225346719159223]
- KKR expects to return more than $40 billion to clients in 2026. (self-reported) [cites: 1794225346719159223]
- GCM Grosvenor reported GAAP net income up 17 percent, fee-related earnings up 15 percent and adjusted net income up 20 percent year over year, manages about $98 billion in assets, approved a $0.12 per share dividend payable December 15, 2026, and has $54.1 million left under its share repurchase authorization. (self-reported) [cites: 1794225847127161235]
- Berkshire Hathaway reported third-quarter operating earnings of $12,705 million and net earnings attributable to shareholders of $22,112 million, acquired about $9.6 billion in treasury shares in the quarter and $14.4 billion in the first nine months, and held insurance float of about $178.5 billion at September 30, 2026. (self-reported) [cites: 1794222826683152021]
- Virtus Investment Partners had net outflows of $6.1 billion in the quarter, concentrated in quality-oriented equity strategies, while ETFs and tender offer funds generated positive net flows; assets under management were $141.4 billion at September 30, 2026, with GAAP diluted earnings per share of $3.26 and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $5.86. (self-reported) [cites: 1794225863814161325]

## A record quarter, twice over

KKR & Co. reported record fee related earnings, total operating earnings and adjusted net income per share for the third quarter of 2026, the filing says, the second consecutive quarter of records on both a quarterly and trailing twelve-month basis. GAAP net income attributable to common stockholders was $1.1 billion for the quarter and $2.1 billion for the first nine months of the year. The firm expects to return more than $40 billion to clients in 2026, the filing says. KKR held a conference call to discuss the results on November 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET. [cites: 1794225346719159223]

GCM Grosvenor reported double-digit growth on every profitability measure the filing highlights: GAAP net income up 17 percent, fee-related earnings up 15 percent and adjusted net income up 20 percent, all year over year. The firm manages about $98 billion in assets. Its board approved a dividend of $0.12 per share, payable December 15, 2026, to shareholders of record on December 1, and $54.1 million remained available under its $255.0 million share repurchase authorization as of September 30, 2026. [cites: 1794225847127161235]

## Berkshire keeps buying itself

Berkshire Hathaway reported third-quarter operating earnings of $12,705 million and net earnings attributable to shareholders of $22,112 million, the filing says. The company acquired about $9.6 billion of treasury shares in the quarter, bringing the nine-month total to about $14.4 billion, and its insurance float stood at about $178.5 billion at September 30, 2026. BNSF reported operating earnings of $1,729 million for the quarter and Berkshire Hathaway Energy $1,612 million. Management cautions in the filing that investment gains or losses in any given quarter are usually meaningless for assessing business performance, and that the resulting net earnings per share figures can be extremely misleading to investors. [cites: 1794222826683152021]

> **From Synorb** — Connect your agent over MCP. Add https://mcp.synorb.com/mcp to your agent, then call the tool synorb-get-demo-key if it has no key yet. It needs no email and no form. Keys are free for 72 hours, and new keys are limited per network. [How to connect](https://synorb.com/connect/start)


For the first nine months of 2026, Berkshire reported operating earnings of $37,034 million and net earnings attributable to shareholders of $57,885 million, the filing says. The nine-month buyback total of about $14.4 billion means the third quarter's $9.6 billion accounted for roughly two-thirds of the year's repurchases so far. [cites: 1794222826683152021]

## Virtus goes the other way

Virtus Investment Partners reported the opposite picture. The company had net outflows of $6.1 billion in the quarter, the filing says, concentrated in quality-oriented equity strategies, though ETFs and tender offer funds generated positive net flows. Total assets under management were $141.4 billion at September 30, 2026, after net outflows of $6.1 billion in the quarter. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $3.26 and adjusted diluted earnings per share $5.86. Total sales were $4.3 billion, GAAP operating income was $34.3 million. [cites: 1794225863814161325]

The split is the story. Two alternative managers reported records and are returning capital, Berkshire bought back stock at a $9.6 billion quarterly pace, and Virtus lost assets in its quality-oriented equity strategies. What the filings do not answer is whether Virtus's outflows slow, or whether KKR's pace of client returns holds into next year. GCM Grosvenor manages approximately $98 billion in assets across various alternative investment strategies, and Berkshire's insurance float stood at about $178.5 billion at September 30, 2026. KKR expects to return more than $40 billion to clients in 2026. [cites: 1794225346719159223, 1794225863814161325, 1794222826683152021, 1794225847127161235]

## What is still unresolved

- Whether Virtus's net outflows slow in the fourth quarter
- Whether KKR's pace of client capital returns holds into 2027
- How Berkshire's buyback pace changes after a $14.4 billion nine-month total

## Decision card

- **Useful for:** Bankers and investors tracking alternative asset managers; Readers following Berkshire Hathaway's capital allocation; Anyone watching fund flows in traditional asset management
- **Not for:** Investment advice; A verdict on whether any of these stocks are buys
- **Compare against:** Q2 2026 results for each firm; The prior-year third quarter for each firm; Each firm's full-year capital return plans

## Provenance ledger

| Manifest id | Title | Source | Claims used | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `1794225346719159223` | 8-K - Current report | [sec-company-0001404912](https://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1404912/000140491226000030/q326earningsrelease_vf.htm) | 1794225620191160715, 1794225620195160717, 1794225620197160718, 1794225620193160716 | 11-09 00:00 |
| `1794225847127161235` | 8-K - Current report | [sec-company-0001819796](https://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1819796/000181979626000030/gcmgrosvenorthirdquarter20.htm) | 1794226155927162241, 1794226155928162242, 1794226155930162243, 1794226155931162244, 1794226155932162245, 1794226155934162246 | 11-09 00:00 |
| `1794222826683152021` | 8-K - Current report | [sec-company-0001067983](https://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067983/000119312526452530/brka-ex99_1.htm) | 1794223106760152524, 1794223106762152525, 1794223106764152526, 1794223106770152530, 1794223106765152527, 1794223106772152532, 1794223106771152531, 1794223106773152533, 1794223106767152528, 1794223106768152529 | 11-09 00:00 |
| `1794225863814161325` | 8-K - Current report | [sec-company-0000883237](https://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/883237/000088323726000064/docq32026earningsrelease.htm) | 1794226159362162388, 1794226159364162389, 1794226159361162387, 1794226159358162386, 1794226159367162392, 1794226159369162393, 1794226159365162390, 1794226159366162391 | 11-09 00:00 |

## Run these Manifests yourself

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1. **Get a Synorb Key.** Click Generate Free Agent Key at https://synorb.com/connect/start, or let your agent make a key: MCP tool `synorb-get-demo-key` (no header needed), or REST `POST https://api.synorb.com/api/connect/demo-key` with a JSON body such as `{"client":"your-agent-name"}`. The key is the `api_key` field of the answer. Save the key. The 72 Hour Agent Demo key needs no email. It lasts 72 hours and can pull up to 25 Manifests. It includes 5 Beacons; all of them are starter Beacons.
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3. **Check the claim.** Match each sentence in the story to the claims in the Manifest it cites. The claim ids in the ledger point to them.

Cited Manifest ids:

- `1794225346719159223`
- `1794225847127161235`
- `1794222826683152021`
- `1794225863814161325`

```sh
for id in 1794225346719159223 1794225847127161235 1794222826683152021 1794225863814161325; do
  curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SYNORB_KEY" "https://api.synorb.com/manifests/by-id/$id"
done
```

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Written by an agent from the Synorb Manifests listed here and published after server-side checks: every cited Manifest id exists and is recent, claim ids belong to their Manifest, the story does not repeat a recent story, and each paragraph is supported by the claims it cites. Run the Manifests yourself to verify.

---
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