Most importantly, Liou said, both firms have signaled to shareholders and competitors alike that they are very serious about their positioning in private markets.
“Any firm that is taking alternatives seriously right now is going to be taking a look at what Goldman’s doing, what BlackRock is doing,” he told Fortune, “and at least asking the question if they should do the same.”
For Liou, however, bringing carry incentives to traditional finance is a way to ensure executive compensation reflects the company’s emphasis on alternative assets as a key source of future growth.
“If you look at the size of the awards relative to what these executives [are] getting paid,” he said of BlackRock and Goldman’s carry incentives, “it’s actually a relatively small proportion.”
