Brian Madden KKR & Co. LP KKR-N TOP PICK Sep 18, 2025

It is one of original private equity companies and is still in that space. There are fewer and fewer public companies, 400 to 500 fewer in Canada than in the year 2000. There is less debt funding to the tech sector. There should be growth in the short to medium term.

Knows the company well. For these companies, do they have sufficient cash if we enter a recession so you can deploy capital to buy at a lower prices (and sell as the economy improves). It's a good franchise, but he'd prefer buying Brookfield and some European names to avoid paying an extra premium.

Loves it and its growth. Looking at it, but not ready to buy. Valuation needs to come down a bit more to meet his margin of safety, especially because it doesn't pay a big dividend (so you're relying on capital appreciation).

Private equity (used to be called leveraged buyouts). An American version of Brookfield is a way to conceptualize it. Manage $640B of private equity. Organic growth bolstered by recent acquisition, which takes them into insurance and annuities. Rapidly growing capital markets business. Secular advantage of private market flows are outpacing public market flows. Yield is 0.6%.

He looks at relative strength, head-to-head battles and who's winning. As money flew out of financials, he sold his position. Big correction at the beginning of February. Picked up support ~$110, similar to the August low. Starting to come back. If it can break out above the trend line ~$125, looks encouraging.

Yes, if you can handle the ride. No, if you can't. When Trump was elected last November on promises of market regulation, these stocks ripped. Then, tariffs hit, and KKR shares plunged. You can nibble at it here at these lows.

With interest rates not coming down as fast as expected, and with volatility in the market, there are concerns about its deal-making ability. Expects to see a lot of liquid products over the next 1-2 years from this name and its peers. Headwinds from tariffs and regulations, but those are dissipating at the moment.
 
Doesn't really have an opinion on KKR. The love of his life is BN, and they've owned it for quite a long time. Likes that it collects giant fees from diversified assets. His preferred play on alternative assets.

Has pulled back from recent highs. Has growth potential and is run well. They continue to see flows in. This should move up, but is more volatile. Is a long-term hold, adding to pullbacks around its 50- and 200-day moving averages.

We're in a market where liquidity is of value. In the private equity market, there have been difficulties getting deals liquidated. He's less interested in the area until the market for liquidating deals opens up.