Blackstone: More Dry Powder, Strong Momentum
Blackstone’s assets under management remained above $1 trillion at the end of 2023, as officials at the global alternatives behemoth begin 2024 with nearly $200 billion in dry powder at their disposal.
Overall inflows reached $149 billion in 2023, with around $74 billion invested during the year.
“Blackstone reported strong fourth quarter results, as we exited a volatile year for global markets. The quarter reflected strong momentum across the business, including a meaningful acceleration in fund-raising and investment activity,” said Blackstone Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman in the company’s earnings release.
In terms of annual returns, private credit outperformed with a 16.4% gain, while real estate suffered losses of 6.3% and 4.3% across the opportunistic and core strategies. Hedge funds gained 7.8%, while corporate private equity and infrastructure investments increased by 12.1% each.
In terms of assets, real estate remains Blackstone’s largest asset class at $337 billion, with an annual growth of approximately $11 billion. Much of the fourth-quarter increase came from debt investments, especially a fee-paying joint venture with the FDIC to acquire the Signature Bank commercial senior mortgage loan portfolio, which resulted in $10.5 billion in inflows during the fourth quarter.
Credit and insurance portfolio was the largest area of asset growth at $39 billion in 2023, totaling $318.9 billion. Direct lending increased to $110 billion.
Private equity topped $300 billion by the end of 2023, with $15 billion in asset growth. The asset class contributes for little under half of Blackstone’s dry powder capital of $80 billion.
