ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co clarified that its reported alternatives assets exclude investor capital that has been committed but not yet drawn. Therefore, indicating that the private-markets business has a larger pool of potential fee-bearing assets than the Rs 809.65 billion it currently reports.
The clarification is important because ICICI Prudential earns management fees only when the committed capital is called and deployed. Its reported alternatives AUM is therefore not the total capital investors have pledged to its private credit, real estate, private equity and early-stage private equity funds; it is the portion on which the asset manager is already earning fees.
“There could be an AUM which is committed which is higher than this which may be undrawn,” management said on an earnings call on Monday.
The company said it has historically reported only money that has been drawn from investors. “Once we draw down the amount, before we draw down the amount, we don’t charge fees on commitment,” management said.
That makes ICICI Prudential’s reported alternatives AUM a conservative indicator of its current private-markets revenue base. But it also means the company has not disclosed the total value of investor commitments, the undrawn amount, or the likely timing of drawdowns.