Etched in stone

Blackstone, the world’s biggest alternative asset manager, has raised an initial $1.3 billion for a new private equity fund tailored for wealthy individual investors. The fund – Blackstone Private Equity Strategies (BXPE) – is further evidence of Blackstone’s decade-long push to diversify its investor base beyond large institutions, as it looks to build its private wealth client book. Blackstone is not the only group to think, ‘All hail retail!’ with Carlyle Group and Apollo also taking strides to offer investment funds to private investors. This could be the next step in solidifying Blackstone’s market-leading reputation, and more broadly, private equity’s appeal with the masses.