ICG Reports Strong FY2026 Results as AUM Reaches $126 Billion and Fundraising Tops Expectations
ICG Reports Strong FY2026 Results as AUM Reaches $126 Billion and Fundraising Tops Expectations
Intermediate Capital Group plc, known as ICG, delivered a strong full-year 2026 performance, supported by higher fee-related earnings, solid fundraising, stronger cash generation, and continued demand for private market investment strategies.
The company reported assets under management of $126 billion for the year ended March 31, 2026, while fee-earning AUM rose to $87 billion, up 11% year over year on a constant currency basis. ICG also raised $17 billion during the year, exceeding its own expectations.
Key Financial Highlights
ICG said management fees increased to £685 million, representing 13% growth from the prior year. Fee-related earnings, a key profitability measure for alternative asset managers, climbed 23% to £350 million, equal to 120 pence per share.
Performance fee income also improved, reaching £127 million, compared with £86 million in FY2025. Group operating cashflow rose sharply to £861 million, up from £533 million a year earlier. Net debt declined significantly to £113 million, while total available liquidity increased to £1.46 billion.
Fundraising Momentum Remains Strong
ICG’s fundraising performance was one of the clearest signs of investor confidence. The company raised $16.6 billion across its business activities, including $7.0 billion in Structured Capital and Secondaries, $5.5 billion in Real Assets, and $4.1 billion in Debt strategies.
The company highlighted continued demand from institutional investors around the world. Its Europe IX fund is expected to become ICG’s first commingled fund to reach €10 billion in size. ICG also noted successful final closes for Infrastructure II and Metropolitan II, showing progress across both flagship and scaling strategies.
Investment Discipline and Liquidity Focus
ICG’s management emphasized that the current market environment rewards disciplined investing, careful selection, and strong cash realization. The company said it remained focused on deployment quality and DPI, a measure of cash returned to investors.
Deployment reached $14.1 billion, while realizations totaled $6.8 billion. This balance suggests ICG is still investing actively, but not ignoring the importance of returning capital to clients. For a private markets manager, that combination can help maintain trust during uncertain market cycles.
Shareholder Returns Increase Again
ICG proposed a total ordinary dividend of 87 pence per share for FY2026, up from 83 pence in FY2025. This marked the company’s 16th consecutive annual dividend increase, underlining management’s confidence in cashflow and long-term earnings power.
The increase may appeal to investors looking for exposure to private market growth with a growing income stream. However, as with all financial stocks, future returns will still depend on market conditions, fundraising, fee growth, and portfolio performance.
Updated Medium-Term Guidance
ICG also updated its medium-term financial guidance. The company now focuses more clearly on fee-related earnings margin, aligning its reporting style with global alternative asset management peers. It continues to target at least $55 billion of fundraising between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2028. By FY2026, ICG had already raised $40 billion toward that goal.
The company expects performance fee income to represent around 10% to 20% of total fee income over time, excluding one-off transition effects. This gives investors a clearer view of the recurring earnings base and the additional upside that may come from successful investment performance.
Business Outlook
ICG enters FY2027 with strong liquidity, lower net debt, and significant dry powder of $36 billion. Dry powder gives the firm flexibility to invest when attractive opportunities appear. In private markets, this can be a major advantage when asset prices adjust or companies seek flexible capital solutions.
Overall, the results point to a company that is growing steadily while keeping a careful eye on risk. Higher management fees, rising fee-related earnings, strong fundraising, improved cashflow, and another dividend increase all support the view that ICG remains well positioned in the alternative asset management sector.
For investors, the main story is not only that ICG grew in FY2026, but that it did so while strengthening its balance sheet and improving recurring earnings. That combination may help the company compete globally as demand for private credit, real assets, secondaries, and structured capital continues to develop.
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