Oppenheimer’s Kotowski: Alternative asset managers are cheap and still growing

Chris Kotowski, senior research analyst at Oppenheimer, joined CNBC's 'The Exchange' to discuss the mixed quarter for large banks and his view that alternative asset managers are cheap and still growing. The segment, posted about two hours before this summary, runs roughly four minutes, and the publicly available material does not itemize specific valuation multiples, earnings figures or fee-related growth rates from the interview.

The view is consistent with Oppenheimer's broader positioning. According to a report dated June 30, 2026, Oppenheimer downgraded major U.S. investment banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and backed alternative asset managers. Earlier coverage of the same call described the bank downgrades as arguing that rich valuations left little room for further upside, and named Ares Management, Blackstone and Bank of America among the companies discussed.

Other Oppenheimer commentary in the publisher's archive has pointed to the same theme. Kotowski has said that investment banks are expensive and no longer systemically undervalued, and Oppenheimer analysts have anticipated solid mid-teens growth in fee-paying assets under management for alternative managers despite credit concerns. Those remarks come from separate appearances and should be read as context rather than as details of the current segment.

For allocators, the core message is relative valuation: Oppenheimer sees alternative managers as undervalued relative to traditional investment banks while their fee-earning asset bases continue to expand.