Carlyle Shares Fall After Third-Quarter Private Equity Slump (2)

Carlyle Group Inc. posted a slide in earnings at its private equity arm during the third quarter, leaning on the credit and secondaries businesses to carry the firm as it navigates a choppy dealmaking recovery.

Sales of portfolio companies reduced private equity assets by 3% from a year earlier, Washington-based Carlyle said in a statement Friday. The business — Carlyle’s biggest profit driver — didn’t take enough new investor money to grow fund management fees, and some public holdings eroded returns.

The quarter underscored the pressure on Chief Executive Officer Harvey Schwartz to keep driving returns at the private …