The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Brookfield Asset Management has raised $19-billion so far this year, defying a tough fundraising environment and turning increasingly to the Middle East and Asia to attract new money (all figures U.S.). The Globe's James Bradshaw writes that a tough economic outlook and the impact of interest-rate increases have made capital relatively scarce, setting up a hard slog for many institutional investors looking to raise funds. However, Brookfield, which raised $13-billion in the first quarter and nearly $100-billion over the past year, still sees "the potential for our fundraising to accelerate throughout the year," said chief executive officer Bruce Flatt and president Connor Teskey in a letter to shareholders. Brookfield is benefiting from its size and reach, with more than $825-billion in assets under management and operations in 30 countries. As capital has grown harder to come by in North America, Brookfield has raised more cash from countries such as Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. After setting up offices in the Middle East and Asia over the past decade, Brookfield raised about 40 per cent of its new capital from those regions over the past year.