Mike Freno: We Need to Be Substantially Larger in Five Years to Compete

June 2026 – 1 min read

Mike Freno outlines the firm’s growth ambitions amid industry consolidation, highlighting M&A plans, expansion into wealth markets, and evolving opportunities in private credit and infrastructure.

Barings is close to half a trillion dollars in assets under management, but chairman and CEO Mike Freno (pictured) says it will need to grow ‘substantially’ larger within five years to remain competitive.

As of 31 March, Barings had $481bn in AUM across credit, real assets, capital solutions and emerging markets, with Freno describing the business as being ‘at scale today’.

But he added: ‘In five years, we’re going to need to be substantially larger, I think, in the asset classes that we have to be considered to be of scale, to be able to compete.’

The comments offer a window into how a mid-sized alternatives manager is thinking about the future in an industry that is rapidly consolidating. Just in 2025, there were 164 M&A deals for private markets managers, up 40% year-on -year, according to data released earlier this year by Campbell Lutyens.

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Headshot of Mike Freno smiling at the camera.

Mike Freno

Chairman, President & CEO

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