Blackstone private wealth AUM hits record $330 billion as distributable earnings fall 9%

Blackstone ended the third quarter with $330 billion in assets managed for individual investors, up 15% from a year earlier, even as distributable earnings fell 9% to $1.72 billion, or $1.32 a share.

Distributable earnings, the cash-based measure Blackstone uses to set its dividend, declined as gains from asset sales slowed. Fee-related earnings, which strip out exits, rose 6% to $1.57 billion, or $1.26 a share. The profit figures beat analyst expectations, Reuters reported, and Blackstone shares rose nearly 6% after the release.

BXPE, the private equity program for individuals, raised a record $2.9 billion. BXINFRA, the infrastructure vehicle for the wealth channel, brought in $1.1 billion, which the firm called its strongest quarter since launch. The private credit strategy for individuals recorded gross sales of almost $750 million, and the newly launched hedge fund solution raised about $400 million. Those four products account for roughly $5.2 billion of the near-$9 billion total.

The $330 billion compares with the $324 billion we reported for the second quarter. Nearly $9 billion of gross sales produced about $6 billion of net growth. The quarterly figures do not separate flows from performance, so a 1% move in market values is worth about $3.3 billion on its own.

Redemption requests at BCRED, Blackstone's flagship nontraded private credit fund, stayed elevated in the third quarter, according to InvestmentNews's account of the results. The fund's redemption queue has been a focus all year: a 10% request wave ran against a 5% cap, as this publication reported in September.

Fundraising for perpetual strategies rose materially from the second quarter even though credit sales slowed, the firm said. Perpetual strategies are open-ended vehicles without a fixed end date, which Blackstone calls the main structures advisors use with clients.

Blackstone also launched a multi-strategy vehicle for investors outside the US, which it calls "Blackstone in a box." The first two funds from its alliance with Wellington Management and Vanguard Group went live in the third quarter.