GCM Grosvenor Inc. (GCMG)

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates, and beliefs that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under the “Risk Factors” section of Part I, Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, and under the “Forward-Looking Statements” section elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a leading alternative asset management solutions provider that invests across all major alternative investment strategies. We invest on a primary basis and through direct-oriented strategies, which we define as secondaries, co-investments, direct investments and seed investments. We operate customized separate accounts and commingled funds. We collaborate with our clients to invest on their behalf across the private and public markets, either through portfolios customized to meet a client’s specific objectives or through specialized commingled funds that are developed to meet broad market demands for strategies and risk-return objectives.

We operate at scale across the full range of private markets and absolute return strategies. Private markets and absolute return strategies are primarily defined by the liquidity of the underlying securities purchased, the length of the client commitment, and the form and timing of incentive fees. For private markets strategies, clients generally commit to invest over a three-year time period and have an expected duration of seven years or more. In private markets strategies, carried interest is typically based on realized gains on liquidation of the investment. For absolute return strategies, the securities tend to be more liquid, clients have the ability to redeem assets more regularly, and performance fees can be earned on an annual basis. We offer the following investment strategies:

•Private Equity

•Infrastructure

•Real Estate

•Absolute Return Strategies

•Alternative Credit

Our clients include large, sophisticated, global institutional investors who rely on our investment expertise and differentiated investment access to navigate the alternatives market, but also include a growing individual investor client base. As one of the pioneers of the customized separate account solutions, we are equipped to provide investment services to clients with a wide variety of needs, internal resources and investment objectives, and our client relationships are deep and frequently span decades.

Trends Affecting Our Business

As a global alternative asset manager, our results of operations are impacted by a variety of factors, including conditions in the global financial markets and economic and political environments, particularly in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. While economic factors, such as interest rates, can make alternative investments more or less attractive relative to other asset classes, investors have increasingly gravitated towards the returns generated by alternative investments in order to meet their return objectives. In addition, increased equity market volatility can also contribute to increased investor demand for alternative strategies. We observed such volatility in 2025 and we have continued to observe such volatility during the first half of 2026 in the United States, driven by elevated inflation, the risk of economic slowdown, the ongoing implementation of U.S. trade tariffs, uncertainty regarding retaliatory measures by trading partners, geopolitical conflict, and the resulting impact on global equity and credit markets. This environment can influence when clients choose to commit capital, the pace at which we invest those commitments, and the timing of realizations and related fees. Finally, the opportunities in private markets continue to expand as firms raise new funds and launch new vehicles and products to access private markets across the globe.

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In addition to the trends discussed above, we believe the following factors, among others, will influence our future performance and results of operations:

Our ability to retain existing investors and attract new investors in our funds.

Our ability to retain existing assets under management and attract new investors in our funds is partially dependent on the extent to which investors continue to favorably see the alternative asset management industry relative to traditional publicly listed equity and debt securities. A decline in the pace or the size of our fundraising efforts or investments as a result of increased competition in the private markets investing environment or a shift toward public markets may impact our revenues, which are generated from management fees and incentive fees.

Our ability to expand our business through new lines of business and geographic markets.

Our ability to grow our revenue base is partially dependent upon our ability to offer additional products and services by entering into new lines of business and by entering into, or expanding our presence in, new geographic markets. Entry into certain lines of business or geographic markets or the introduction of new types of products or services may subject us to the evolving macroeconomic and regulatory environment of the various countries where we operate or in which we invest.

Our ability to realize investments.

Challenging market and economic conditions may adversely affect our ability to exit and realize value from our investments and we may not be able to find suitable investments in which to effectively deploy capital. During periods of adverse economic conditions, such as current geopolitical turmoil abroad and elevated inflation and interest rates, our funds may have difficulty accessing financial markets, which could make it more difficult to obtain funding for additional investments and impact our ability to successfully exit positions in a timely manner. A general market downturn, a recession or a specific market dislocation may result in lower investment returns for our funds, which would adversely affect our revenues.

Our ability to identify suitable investment opportunities for our clients.

Our success largely depends on the identification and availability of suitable investment opportunities for our clients, including the success of the investment vehicles managed by third-party investment managers in which GCM Funds invest. The availability of investment opportunities is subject to certain factors outside of our control, including the market environment at a given point in time. Although there can be no assurance that we will be able to secure the opportunity to invest on behalf of our clients in all or a substantial portion of the investments we select, or that the size of the investment opportunities available to us will be as large as we would desire, we seek to maintain excellent relationships with investment managers that we have invested with previously or who we may invest with in the future. These investment managers include investment managers of investment funds as well as sponsors of investments that might provide co-investment opportunities in portfolio companies alongside the fund manager. Our ability to identify attractive investments and execute those investments is dependent on a number of factors, including the general macroeconomic environment, valuation, transaction size, and expected duration of such investment opportunity.

Our ability to generate competitive returns.

The ability to attract and retain clients is partially dependent on returns we are able to deliver versus client objectives, our peers and industry benchmarks. The capital we are able to attract drives the growth of our assets under management and the management and incentive fees we earn. Similarly, in order to maintain our desired fee structure in a competitive environment, we must be able to continue to provide clients with investment returns and service that incentivize our investors to pay our desired fee rates.

Our ability to comply with increasing and evolving regulatory requirements.

The complex and evolving regulatory and tax environment may have an adverse effect on our business and subject us to additional expenses or capital requirements, as well as restrictions on our business operations.

For example, on July 4, 2025, H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (the “OBBBA”) was signed into law in the United States. Among other changes, the OBBBA modifies key business tax provisions, including the restoration of 100% bonus depreciation under Section 168(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), the restoration of the immediate deduction of U.S. domestic research and experimental expenditures under Section 174A of the Code, the restoration of the EBITDA-based business interest expense limitation under Section 163(j) of the Code, and changes to the computation of taxes related to

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international operations. Based on our evaluation of the tax law changes outlined in the OBBBA, we do not expect the legislation to have a material impact on our financial statements.

Operating Segments

We have determined that we operate in a single operating and reportable segment. This is consistent with how our chief operating decision maker, who is our Chief Executive Officer, allocates resources and assesses performance.

Organizational Structure

The diagram below depicts our current organizational structure:

Note: The diagram depicts a simplified version of our structure and does not include all legal entities in our structure. Approximate ownership percentages are as of August 5, 2026.

(1)Mr. Sacks, the chairman of our board of directors and our Chief Executive Officer, ultimately owns and controls GCM V. The address for Mr. Sacks is c/o GCM Grosvenor, 900 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1100, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

(2)Percentage of combined voting power represents voting power with respect to all shares of Class A common stock and Class C common stock, voting together as a single class. Each holder of Class A common stock is entitled to one vote per share, and each holder of Class C common stock is entitled to the lesser of (i) 10 votes per share and (ii) the Class C Share Voting Amount on all matters submitted to stockholders for their vote or approval. From and after the Sunset Date, holders of Class C Common Stock will be entitled to one vote per share. Class C common stock does not have any of the economic rights (including rights to dividends and distributions upon liquidation) associated with Class A common stock.

(3)Mr. Sacks is the ultimate managing member of each of (i) Holdings, (ii) Management LLC, (iii) Holdings II, and (iv) GCM Progress Subsidiary LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “GCMH Equityholders”). Any distribution of proceeds derived from the securities held by the GCMH Equityholders is shared among the respective members of such entities in accordance with the applicable operating agreements of such entities.

(4)As of August 5, 2026, there were 61,126,269 shares of Class A common stock outstanding and 141,665,831 common units of GCMH (“Common Units”) outstanding held by the GCMH Equityholders, which may be exchanged for shares of Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis, or, at our election, for cash, pursuant to and subject to the restrictions set forth in the Fifth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Limited Partnership Agreement of GCMH. As of August 5, 2026, GCM V held 141,665,831 shares of Class C common stock, which corresponds to the number of Common

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates, and beliefs that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under the “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” sections and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

This section of the Annual Report on Form 10-K discusses activity as of and for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. For discussion on activity for the year ended December 31, 2023 and period-over-period analysis on results for the year ended December 31, 2024 to 2023, refer to Part II, “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on February 20, 2025.

Overview

We are a leading alternative asset management solutions provider that invests across all major alternative investment strategies. We invest on a primary basis and through direct-oriented strategies, which we define as secondaries, co-investments, direct investments and seed investments. We operate customized separate accounts and commingled funds. We collaborate with our clients to invest on their behalf across the private and public markets, either through portfolios customized to meet a client’s specific objectives or through specialized commingled funds that are developed to meet broad market demands for strategies and risk-return objectives.

We operate at scale across the full range of private markets and absolute return strategies. Private markets and absolute return strategies are primarily defined by the liquidity of the underlying securities purchased, the length of the client commitment, and the form and timing of incentive fees. For private markets strategies, clients generally commit to invest over a three-year time period and have an expected duration of seven years or more. In private markets strategies, carried interest is typically based on realized gains on liquidation of the investment. For absolute return strategies, the securities tend to be more liquid, clients have the ability to redeem assets more regularly, and performance fees can be earned on an annual basis. We offer the following investment strategies:

•Private Equity

•Infrastructure

•Real Estate

•Absolute Return Strategies

•Alternative Credit

•Sustainable and Impact Investing

Our clients include large, sophisticated, global institutional investors who rely on our investment expertise and differentiated investment access to navigate the alternatives market, but also include a growing individual investor client base. As one of the pioneers of the customized separate account solutions, we are equipped to provide investment services to clients with a wide variety of needs, internal resources and investment objectives, and our client relationships are deep and frequently span decades.

Trends Affecting Our Business

As a global alternative asset manager, our results of operations are impacted by a variety of factors, including conditions in the global financial markets and economic and political environments, particularly in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. While economic factors, such as interest rates, can make alternative investments more or less attractive relative to other asset classes, investors have increasingly gravitated towards the returns generated by alternative investments in order to meet their return objectives. In addition, increased equity market volatility can also contribute to increased investor demand for alternative strategies. We have observed such volatility in 2025 in the United States, driven by elevated inflation, economic slowdown and potential implications of U.S. trade tariffs. This environment can influence when clients choose to commit capital, the pace at which we invest those commitments, and the timing of realizations and related

82

fees. Finally, the opportunities in private markets continue to expand as firms raise new funds and launch new vehicles and products to access private markets across the globe.

In addition to the trends discussed above, we believe the following factors, among others, will influence our future performance and results of operations:

Our ability to retain existing investors and attract new investors in our funds.

Our ability to retain existing assets under management and attract new investors in our funds is partially dependent on the extent to which investors continue to favorably see the alternative asset management industry relative to traditional publicly listed equity and debt securities. A decline in the pace or the size of our fundraising efforts or investments as a result of increased competition in the private markets investing environment or a shift toward public markets may impact our revenues, which are generated from management fees and incentive fees.

Our ability to expand our business through new lines of business and geographic markets.

Our ability to grow our revenue base is partially dependent upon our ability to offer additional products and services by entering into new lines of business and by entering into, or expanding our presence in, new geographic markets. Entry into certain lines of business or geographic markets or the introduction of new types of products or services may subject us to the evolving macroeconomic and regulatory environment of the various countries where we operate or in which we invest.

Our ability to realize investments.

Challenging market and economic conditions may adversely affect our ability to exit and realize value from our investments and we may not be able to find suitable investments in which to effectively deploy capital. During periods of adverse economic conditions, such as current geopolitical turmoil abroad and elevated inflation and interest rates, our funds may have difficulty accessing financial markets, which could make it more difficult to obtain funding for additional investments and impact our ability to successfully exit positions in a timely manner. A general market downturn, a recession or a specific market dislocation may result in lower investment returns for our funds, which would adversely affect our revenues.

Our ability to identify suitable investment opportunities for our clients.

Our success largely depends on the identification and availability of suitable investment opportunities for our clients, including the success of the investment vehicles managed by third-party investment managers in which GCM Funds invest. The availability of investment opportunities is subject to certain factors outside of our control, including the market environment at a given point in time. Although there can be no assurance that we will be able to secure the opportunity to invest on behalf of our clients in all or a substantial portion of the investments we select, or that the size of the investment opportunities available to us will be as large as we would desire, we seek to maintain excellent relationships with investment managers that we have invested with previously or who we may invest with in the future. These investment managers include investment managers of investment funds as well as sponsors of investments that might provide co-investment opportunities in portfolio companies alongside the fund manager. Our ability to identify attractive investments and execute those investments is dependent on a number of factors, including the general macroeconomic environment, valuation, transaction size, and expected duration of such investment opportunity.

Our ability to generate competitive returns.

The ability to attract and retain clients is partially dependent on returns we are able to deliver versus client objectives, our peers and industry benchmarks. The capital we are able to attract drives the growth of our assets under management and the management and incentive fees we earn. Similarly, in order to maintain our desired fee structure in a competitive environment, we must be able to continue to provide clients with investment returns and service that incentivize our investors to pay our desired fee rates.

Our ability to comply with increasing and evolving regulatory requirements.

The complex and evolving regulatory and tax environment may have an adverse effect on our business and subject us to additional expenses or capital requirements, as well as restrictions on our business operations.

For example, on July 4, 2025, H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (the “OBBBA”) was signed into law in the United States. Among other changes, the OBBBA modifies key business tax provisions, including the restoration of 100%

83

bonus depreciation under Section 168(k) of the Code, the restoration of the immediate deduction of U.S. domestic research and experimental expenditures under Section 174A of the Code, the restoration of the EBITDA-based business interest expense limitation under Section 163(j) of the Code, and changes to the computation of taxes related to international operations. Based on our evaluation of the tax law changes outlined in the OBBBA, we do not expect the legislation to have a material impact on our financial statements.

Operating Segments

We have determined that we operate in a single operating and reportable segment. This is consistent with how our chief operating decision maker, who is our Chief Executive Officer, allocates resources and assesses performance.

Organizational Structure

The diagram below depicts our current organizational structure:

Note: The diagram depicts a simplified version of our structure and does not include all legal entities in our structure. Approximate ownership percentages are as of February 16, 2026.

1 Mr. Sacks, the chairman of our board of directors and our Chief Executive Officer, ultimately owns and controls GCM V. The address for Mr. Sacks is c/o GCM Grosvenor, 900 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1100, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

2 Percentage of combined voting power represents voting power with respect to all shares of Class A common stock and Class C common stock, voting together as a single class. Each holder of Class A common stock is entitled to one vote per share and each holder of Class C common stock is entitled to the lesser of (i) 10 votes per share and (ii) the Class C Share Voting Amount on all matters submitted to stockholders for their vote or approval. From and after the Sunset Date, holders of Class C Common Stock will be entitled to one vote per share. Class C common stock does not have any of the economic rights (including rights to dividends and distributions upon liquidation) associated with Class A common stock.

3 Mr. Sacks is the ultimate managing member of each of (i) Holdings, (ii) Management LLC, (iii) Holdings II, and (iv) GCM Progress Subsidiary LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “GCMH Equityholders”). Any distribution of proceeds derived from the securities held by the GCMH Equityholders is shared among the respective members of such entities in accordance with the applicable operating agreements of such entities.

4 As of February 16, 2026, there were 60,810,959 shares of Class A common stock outstanding and 141,665,831 common units of GCMH (“Common Units”) outstanding held by the GCMH Equityholders, which may be exchanged for shares of Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis, or, at the Company’s election for cash, pursuant to and subject to the restrictions set forth in the Fift

[Excerpt truncated for page length; the complete text is on the linked full-MD&A page.]