Blackstone’s personal credit score portfolio noticed the strongest progress of all segments within the fourth quarter of 2023, because the funding large continues to faucet into the favored asset class.
The agency’s monetary outcomes confirmed 3.9 per cent progress within the worth of its personal credit score funds over the past three months of the yr, bringing the full-year efficiency to 16.4 per cent.
In distinction, Blackstone’s actual property division misplaced worth. Opportunistic actual property misplaced 3.8 per cent within the fourth quarter, bringing the full-year decline to six.3 per cent.
Learn extra: Abrdn sees “strong” demand for personal credit score
BCRED – Blackstone’s personal credit score fund – noticed 10 per cent whole web returns final yr, with greater than $64bn in belongings beneath administration.
BXSL, Blackstone’s secured lending fund, returned 11 per cent and manages greater than $11.2bn.
The $1.5trn personal credit score market is booming as buyers clamour to scoop up high-yielding offers in a high-interest-rate surroundings. Preqin has predicted that it is ready to develop to $2.8trn by 2028.
Blackstone’s general distributable earnings – that are used to pay dividends to shareholders – rose to greater than $1.38bn, a 4 per cent year-on-year improve.
Blackstone’s revenue from asset gross sales elevated by 16 per cent to $424.8m, regardless of difficult macroeconomic circumstances making it more durable for companies to money out their investments.
Whole belongings beneath administration for the complete yr rose by seven per cent year-on-year to £1.040.2bn, with $52.7bn of inflows within the fourth quarter and $148.5bn for the yr.
Learn extra: What’s the true measurement of the personal credit score market?
“Blackstone reported robust fourth-quarter outcomes, as we exited a unstable yr for world markets,” mentioned Steve Schwarzman, chairman and chief government of Blackstone.
“The quarter mirrored robust momentum throughout the enterprise, together with a significant acceleration in fund-raising and funding exercise. We’re exceptionally nicely positioned for the street forward with practically $200bn of dry powder capital to speculate.”