KKR & Co. reported second-quarter earnings that beat estimates, despite falling 23% from a year ago amid a private equity deal draught.

The alternative asset manager reported $653 million in after-tax distributable earnings, or 73 cents a share, New York-based KKR said in a statement Monday. That beat the 71-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Shares of KKR rose 1.3% to $61.25 at 9:34 a.m. in New York.

Fee-related earnings rose 31% to $602 million during the quarter ended June 30, driven by strong capital markets activity and management fees.

“We continued to execute on our growth initiatives including new product launches tailored to the private wealth channel as well as strategic activity” at the firm’s life insurance and retirement unit Global Atlantic, Co-Chief Executive Officers Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall said in the statement.

Private equity firms have been contending with higher interest rates, a difficult fundraising environment and a sluggish market for dealmaking.

Realized investment income from selling assets fell 58.6% to $114.7 million and realized performance income, or carried interest, fell 79.6% to $149.3 million.

KKR’s assets under management grew 6% year-over-year to $519 billion, driven by $8 billion in credit and liquid strategies.

Global Atlantic reported a 5.8% decline in operating earnings to $170.2 million during the quarter due to a higher net cost of insurance from adding new business, as well as higher funding costs.

Other second-quarter highlights:

• Uncalled commitments totaled $100 billion at quarter-end
• KKR’s traditional private equity portfolio gained 5%
• Its leveraged credit composite portfolio rose 3% while its alternative credit assets gained 2%

KKR shares are up about 30% year-to-date through Friday.

(Updates share price in third paragraph.)