The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition Bruce Flatt, chief executive officer of Brookfield Asset Management, likes to eat lunch in the boardroom, which is open to new hires, veterans and anyone else who wants to join. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says the casual working lunches are emblematic of the group focus that Mr. Flatt has fostered in his 13 years as CEO and has helped turn Brookfield into Canada's biggest alternative asset manager. "It's one of the great unknown stories in Canada," said Ron Lloyd at Credit Suisse Securities (Canada). Brookfield's stock is up 26 per cent in the past year, making it among the best-performing alternative asset managers. Brookfield tends to invest when others are fleeing. The rapid drop in oil prices and economic turmoil in places like South America and Europe are creating the perfect hunting grounds. The company increased its fundraising target for this year and early 2016 to $21-billion (U.S.) last week as it prepares to go on the prowl. That is as much as Onex Corp. had under management on Dec. 31. Alternative asset managers are seeing an inflow of liquidity as investors seek higher returns amid low bond yields and record highs in equity markets.