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    HLNE
    Earnings call· Mar 2026(Q4 FY26)

    Hamilton Lane Q4 FY26 earnings call HLNE

    May 21, 2026 Source

    Executive summary

    Hamilton Lane Q4 FY26 — Strong Fee-Related Earnings and Evergreen Inflows

    Hamilton Lane delivered a strong Q4 FY26, driven by robust fee-related earnings and significant growth in its Evergreen platform, which achieved net positive inflows despite industry-wide redemption pressures in March. The firm continues to expand its product suite and strategic technology investments, while also increasing its dividend and share repurchase authorization, reflecting confidence in its diversified business model and market position.

    Highlights

    5

    • Total asset footprint grew 9% year-over-year to $1 trillion at fiscal year-end 2026.

    • Total fee-related revenue increased 20% year-over-year to $687 million for fiscal year 2026.

    • Fee-related earnings (FRE) grew 25% year-over-year to $345 million for fiscal year 2026.

    • The annual fiscal dividend was increased by 11% to $2.40 per share.

    • The Evergreen platform achieved over $1 billion in aggregate net positive inflows for the quarter, with no gates imposed on any fund.

    Concerns

    2

    • March saw negative net inflows of $17 million for Evergreen products, with net outflows in global credit and global multi-strategy equity offerings.

    • Retro fees were lower year-over-year, at $3 million in fiscal year 2026 compared to $21 million in fiscal year 2025.

    Guidance & targets

    6
    CategoryTargetConfidence
    Private Equity Exits
    even more exits
    medium materiality
    Medium
    Infrastructure Allocations
    more than 90% expected to maintain or increase allocations
    medium materiality
    High
    Seventh Secondary Fund & Second Venture Product
    hold initial closes
    high materiality
    High
    First GP-led Secondary Fund
    hold a first close
    high materiality
    High
    Sixth Equity Opportunities Fund Raise Extension
    extend the fund raise through the end of calendar Q2
    high materiality
    High
    Evergreen Net Inflows
    over $265 million
    medium materiality
    High

    Segment performance

    3
    SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
    Specialized Funds
    Revenue growth was driven primarily by a $7 billion increase to fee-earning AUM in the Evergreen platform and over $1 billion raised in the latest direct equity fund in fiscal 2026. Year-over-year growth was impacted by lower retro fees.
    Revenue increase: $59 millionFee-earning AUM increase: $7 billionFee-earning AUM growth: 24%Quarter-over-quarter fee-earning AUM growth: $3 billionQuarter-over-quarter fee-earning AUM growth: 7%
    		—19%——
    Customized Separate Accounts
    Revenue growth was due to the addition of new accounts, re-ups from existing clients, and continued investment activity. Net quarter-over-quarter change in fee-earning AUM was essentially flat.
    Revenue increase: $7 millionFee-earning AUM growth: 4%Fee-earning AUM increase: $1.6 billionNet quarter-over-quarter change: flat
    		—5%——
    Reporting, Monitoring, Data & Analytics
    Strong growth in technology solutions offering, with clients valuing the bundled service and seamless access to data. Cobalt is also sold as a stand-alone subscription.
    Revenue increase: $7 million
    		—22%——

    Operational metrics

    51
    Total Asset Footprint
    $1 trillion9% increase year-over-year
    FY26

    Asset footprint at fiscal year-end.

    Assets Under Management (AUM)
    $142 billiongrew $4 billion or 3% compared to the prior year
    FY26

    AUM at year-end, growth from specialized funds and customized separate accounts.

    Assets Under Advisement (AUA)
    $905 billiongrew over $86 billion or 10% relative to the prior year
    FY26

    AUA at year-end, stemmed primarily from market value growth and technology solutions/back-office mandates.

    Total Management and Advisory Fees
    $584 millionup 14% year-over-year
    FY26

    Total fees for the fiscal year.

    Total Fee-Related Revenue
    $687 million20% growth year-over-year
    FY26

    Sum of management fees and fee-related performance revenues.

    GAAP EPS
    $5.92
    FY26

    Based on $249 million of GAAP net income.

    Non-GAAP EPS
    $5.90
    FY26

    Based on $321 million of adjusted net income.

    Annual Fiscal Dividend
    $2.4011% increase
    FY27

    Board approved increase to annual dividend.

    Unrealized Carry Balance
    $1.5 billionup 23% from the prior year period
    FY26

    Balance of unrealized carry.

    Total Expenses
    $38 millionincreased compared with the prior year
    FY26

    Total expenses for the fiscal year.

    Total Compensation and Benefits
    $25 millionincreased relative to the prior year
    FY26

    Driven primarily by higher compensation associated with increased head count and equity-based compensation.

    G&A Expenses
    $13 millionincreased
    FY26

    Driven primarily by revenue-related expenses, including third-party commissions and platform fees related to U.S. Evergreen product.

    FRE Margin
    50%compared to 48% for the prior year
    FY26

    Benefited from strong fee-related performance revenues in the period.

    Share Repurchases Executed
    $20 million
    Q4 FY26

    Repurchases under authorized program.

    Share Repurchase Authorization Remaining
    $80 million
    Q4 FY26

    Board approved increase to authorization, less amount already spent.

    Fee-Earning AUM
    $82 billiongrew $9 billion or 13% relative to the prior year
    FY26

    Total fee-earning AUM at fiscal year-end.

    Net Quarter-over-Quarter Fee-Earning AUM Growth
    $2 billion3%
    Q4 FY26

    Net growth in fee-earning AUM.

    Blended Fee Rate
    67continued to rise
    FY26

    As fee-earning AUM mix shifts towards faster-growing specialized funds.

    Specialized Fund Fee-Earning AUM
    $41 billionincreased by 24%
    FY26

    Total specialized fund fee-earning AUM at fiscal year-end.

    Evergreen AUM
    $17.5 billion64% growth year-over-year
    Q4 FY26

    Total Evergreen AUM at quarter-end.

    Evergreen Net Inflows
    over $1 billionnet positive inflows
    Q4 FY26

    Aggregate net inflows for the Evergreen suite.

    Institutional Flows into Evergreen
    over 25%continue to rise
    current

    Percentage of capital coming into Evergreen products from institutional clients.

    Direct Equity Fund Total Raise (Sixth Equity Opportunities Fund)
    $2.8 billionover 35% larger than the prior vintage
    current

    Current total raise for the fund, after additional closes through mid-May.

    Direct Equity Fund Management Fee Mix
    35% on committed capital / 65% on net invested
    current

    Breakdown of management fee structure for the Sixth Equity Opportunities Fund.

    Customized Separate Account Fee-Earning AUM
    $41 billiongrew $1.6 billion or 4% over the last 12 months
    FY26

    Fee-earning AUM for customized separate accounts at quarter-end.

    Commitments from Separate Account Clients to Products
    over $620 million
    Q4 FY26

    Allocated to closed-end and Evergreen products from separate account clients.

    Direct Equity Exits Gross Proceeds
    $1.2 billion
    CY26 YTD

    Gross proceeds from direct equity exits, with 6 closed and 2 announced.

    Secondary Fund Exits Value Above Prior Mark
    9%
    CY23-CY25

    Average monetization value above prior marks for assets in the most recent 6 secondary fund.

    Secondary Deal Flow Turned Down
    99%
    CY25

    Percentage of total dollar deal flow in secondaries that Hamilton Lane turned down.

    Capital Committed to Secondaries
    $5.5 billion
    CY25

    Capital committed by Hamilton Lane in the secondary market.

    Secondary Performance from Appreciation
    Nearly 70%
    historical

    Percentage of performance achieved from appreciation of underlying investments post-purchase in secondaries.

    Secondary Performance from Purchasing and Structuring
    About 30%
    historical

    Percentage of performance achieved from good purchasing and structuring in secondaries.

    Secondary Committed Capital (Total)
    Over $29 billion
    historical

    Total committed capital in secondary deals over 25 years.

    Average Secondary Discount
    12%
    2015-2025

    Average discount by year purchased, based on Jefferies data.

    Global Buyout Deal Volume Growth
    more than 40%
    2025

    Growth in private equity deal volume.

    Total Exit Value Growth (Private Equity)
    nearly 50%
    2025

    Growth in private equity exit value.

    Private Credit Equity Contributions
    approximately 50%versus approximately 33% in 2007
    2025

    Average equity contributions in private credit deals.

    Private Credit Default Rate
    sub 2%below historical averages
    current

    Default rate in private credit.

    Infrastructure Fundraising Momentum
    record year
    2025

    Fundraising momentum for infrastructure asset class.

    Institutions Underallocated to Infrastructure
    over 40%
    current

    Percentage of institutions underallocated to infrastructure.

    Secondary Transaction Volume
    $240 billion
    2025

    Reported transaction volume in the secondary market.

    Real Estate Fundraising
    over $240 millionrebounded
    2025

    Real estate fundraising after a post-2021 slowdown.

    Real Estate Liquidity Ratios (Distributions to Contributions)
    approximately 0.7ximproved meaningfully
    2027

    Signaling a more functional exit and recapitalization environment.

    Private Equity Annual Return Gap (Top vs Bottom Quartile)
    10 to 14 percentage points
    historical

    Return gap for buyout and growth managers.

    Venture Annual Return Gap (Top vs Bottom Quartile)
    about 16 percentage points
    historical

    Widest dispersion among sub-asset classes.

    Growth Equity Annual Return Gap (Top vs Bottom Quartile)
    10 to 14 points
    historical

    Return gap for growth managers.

    Secondaries Annual Return Gap (Top vs Bottom Quartile)
    high single to 10-point
    historical

    Consistent annual gap.

    Infrastructure Annual Return Gap (Top vs Bottom Quartile)
    about an 11-pointaround 7 points in more recent ones
    earlier vintages

    Annual dispersion in infrastructure.

    Real Estate Annual Return Gap (Top vs Bottom Quartile)
    mid-teensaround 12 points post GFC
    historically

    Some of the highest dispersions in real estate.

    Retro Fees
    $3 millionversus nearly $21 million in fiscal 2025
    FY26

    Retro fees received in fiscal year 2026.

    Retro Fees
    $2 million
    Q4 FY26

    Retro fees for the quarter.

    Industry KPIs

    5
    MetricValueDetails
    Fee rate67 basis pointsbps
    Fundraising inflowsover $1 billionUSD
    Performance revenue$175 millionUSD
    Fee related earnings$345 millionUSD
    Deployment realizations$5.5 billionUSD

    Product announcements

    2
    ProductTypeDetails
    Hamilton Lane Credit Income Fund (CIF)launch
    First GP-led Secondary Fundlaunch

    Deals & partnerships

    6
    CorestoneStrategic investment alongside Fidelity Investments and Future Standard

    Investment in Corestone, which uses a private permission blockchain to streamline processes in the private markets industry, aiming for fewer errors, faster processing, and a better experience for investors and advisors.

    RepublicStrategic investment in a leading on-chain global investment platform

    This strategic balance sheet investment builds upon an existing relationship that began with the launch of Hamilton Lane's infrastructure Evergreen Fund on the Republic platform in March 2025. The investment will support Republic's efforts to expand its platform for cross-product design, distribution, tokenization, and investor education.

    GuardianAllocation and investment into Hamilton Lane's evergreen funds$250 million

    A partnership where Guardian allocated and invested $250 million into Hamilton Lane's evergreen funds, with an additional couple of hundred million going into closed-end products and a mandate of $5 billion or more over the next 10 years.

    Large U.S. Public Pension PlanPrivate credit mandate

    A private credit mandate won in April, with half of the capital seeding a new U.S. credit Evergreen interval fund and the balance being deployed in a separate account.

    Institutional Investor (Nordic region)Investment in global multi-strategy Evergreen Fund

    An existing client that historically allocated only to closed-end funds has now chosen to supplement those commitments with an investment in the global multi-strategy Evergreen Fund.

    Multiple Institutional Clients (Canada)Separate account mandates

    Secured multiple institutional separate account mandates in Canada, where a portion of the capital will be invested in Evergreen products and the remaining in primaries and closed-end specialized funds.

    Risks & headwinds

    3
    Industry Headlines and Narrativecurrent

    Endless handwringing and concerns about the future

    Mitigation: Hamilton Lane prides itself on having one of the most powerful databases in the industry, which shows a different picture than anecdote-driven headlines.

    Evergreen Redemption ActivityMarch Q4 FY26

    March saw negative net inflows of $17 million for Evergreen products, with net outflows for both global credit and global multi-strategy equity offerings.

    Mitigation: The firm's Evergreen platform finished the quarter with net positive inflows in aggregate, positive quarterly performance across all funds, and no gates imposed. April activity expected to be over $265 million in aggregate net inflows.

    Lower Retro FeesFY26 vs FY25

    $3 million in FY26 vs. $21 million in FY25

    Mitigation: Retro fees for the quarter were $2 million, and additional retro fees may occur next quarter on remaining final closes for the direct equity fund.

    What to watch in Q1 FY27

    5

    Seventh Secondary Fund & Second Venture Product Initial Closes

    coming months
    CurrentMomentum strong, demand building
    TargetInitial closes held

    Why it matters

    These are key new fundraises that will contribute to future fee-earning AUM and fee-related earnings.

    Momentum for both the strong and demand continues to build, and we expect to hold initial closes for both those products in the coming months⏳.

    Q&A highlights

    5

    How does the pipeline look for wirehouse distribution for Evergreen products, and what is the status of hiring for wealth sales?

    Hamilton Lane has products nearing critical mass ($1 billion+ AUM) and is in active dialogue with distribution partners. They have made high-profile hires of seasoned executives from larger asset management firms to expand access, though the benefits of these hires are still nascent.

    “I would say, in general, these are very seasoned executives coming from generally much larger asset management firms than Hamilton Lane, who have had a decade or more experience in the space distributing products.”

    asked by Ken Worthington · answered by Erik Hirsch

    2 min read6 chapters

    Detailed Narrative

    01

    Private Markets Outlook

    Management provided a detailed positive outlook on private markets, citing strong deal volume and exit values in private equity (up 40% and 50% respectively in 2025), solid fundamentals in private credit (sub 2% default rate), and robust fundraising in infrastructure. They emphasized the importance of manager selection due to wide performance dispersion across sub-asset classes, with return gaps between top and bottom quartile managers ranging from 7 to 16 percentage points annually across various strategies.

    02

    Secondary Market Dynamics

    Erik Hirsch dedicated significant time to explaining the secondary market, highlighting that average discounts to NAV ranged from 7% to 19% over the last decade, averaging 12%. He clarified that these discounts are a function of liquidity provision and asymmetric information, not an indicator of underlying asset valuation for other LPs. Hamilton Lane focuses on buying quality assets at appropriate prices, turning down 99% of deal flow in 2025 despite committing $5.5 billion, and noted that nearly 70% of their secondary performance comes from post-purchase appreciation.

    03

    Evergreen Platform Momentum

    The Evergreen platform demonstrated strong resilience, achieving over $1 billion in aggregate net positive inflows for the quarter, with no funds imposing gates, despite industry-wide elevated redemption requests in March. Total Evergreen AUM grew 64% year-over-year to over $17.5 billion. Institutional flows now represent over 25% of capital into Evergreen products, utilizing them for tactical portfolio construction and diversification.

    04

    New Product Launches and Fundraising

    Hamilton Lane launched its 12th Evergreen fund, the Credit Income Fund (CIF), a U.S. registered vehicle focused on senior private credit, with $325 million in seed commitments. The firm also launched fundraising for its first GP-led secondary fund and continued to raise capital for its seventh secondary fund, second venture product, and sixth Equity Opportunities Fund, which has already surpassed its prior vintage size at approximately $2.8 billion.

    05

    Strategic Technology Investments

    The company made strategic balance sheet investments in Corestone and Republic. Corestone aims to streamline private market processes using blockchain technology to reduce manual work and improve data flow. Republic is a global digital investment marketplace, and Hamilton Lane's investment will support its expansion, cross-product design, and tokenization efforts, aligning with the firm's mission to expand access and reduce friction in private markets.

    06

    Exit Activity and Valuations

    Management noted improving exit activity, with 8 direct equity exits in calendar 2026 generating $1.2 billion in gross proceeds at a 3.6x multiple. These assets were monetized at values nearly 34% above their marks two quarters prior. Similarly, secondary portfolio exits (over 340 individual company exits from CY23-CY25) were monetized at values 9% higher than marks two quarters earlier, reinforcing the value of quality investments and GP selection.

    AI-generated summary of the company’s earnings call. Not investment advice.