Blackstone Is the First Alternative Asset Manager to Hit $1 Trillion AUM. So Where Does It Go From Here?
August 21, 2023 | Madeline Hume | Morning Star
In July, Blackstone BX reported that it had surpassed $1 trillion in total assets under management during the second quarter of 2023, being the first alternative asset manager to cross that threshold.
A bit of background to start: “Alternative asset management” is an umbrella term for asset managers that specialize in private market investment strategies like private equity, private debt, or real assets, or in strategies that invest in publicly traded securities in a nontraditional manner, like hedge funds or funds of funds. (I am oversimplifying a bit—there is some overlap between these groups.)
There is a select fraternity of firms, including Blackstone, that operates in all five of these disciplines: private equity, private debt, real assets, hedge funds, and hedge funds of funds. Primarily, though, the alternative asset-management industry remains highly diffuse, consisting of many highly specialized managers with modest pools of investor capital.
