(Bloomberg) — Blackstone Inc.’s new credit fund for individuals is set to debut on May 1, testing investors’ appetite to venture beyond bonds into alternatives in a volatile time for public markets.
President Jon Gray told analysts Thursday the firm plans to launch the fund in the adviser channel on that day. He said Blackstone hasn’t seen a pullback from individuals and private wealth channels so far since April, when President Donald Trump unleashed a slew of tariffs before pausing many of them.
The fund’s rollout will gauge whether investors will tie up their money in exchange for the promise of higher returns. As with most interval funds, investors won’t have the freedom to cash out anytime.
The interval fund known as Blackstone Private Multi-Asset Credit and Income Fund is expected to allow investor withdrawals of as much as 5% of the fund’s net asset value each quarter. It will cycle across various credit strategies, including private financings of companies.
Private capital firms including Blackstone — the world’s largest alternative asset manager — have been angling for a piece of everyday investors’ wealth.
This marks Blackstone’s fifth so-called perpetual fund, which will launch under the ticker BMACX. Investors have the ability to come into the fund daily.
Perpetual finds have no deadline to sell out bets. Of all of Blackstone’s funds for individuals, this one is open to the broadest group of investors. It has a less restrictive threshold for who can invest, and the lowest entry point for Blackstone’s product is $2,500.
Bright Spot
Funds such as Blackstone’s latest credit vehicle challenge the idea that only the richest and most discerning institutions should have access to private investments. That push is reshaping money management and forcing regulators to rethink how to police private markets.
In a muted stretch for real estate and private equity profits, Blackstone’s credit business has been a bright spot — churning out the steady fees from insurers that shareholders prize. The business has boosted Blackstone’s ability to offer investment-grade financings to companies, giving it more ways to challenge banks.
Private investment-grade credit assets rose 35% over the year to $107 billion as of March 31. Blackstone manages about $465 billion across credit and real estate debt strategies.
The firm now has $270 billion through private wealth channels, and new retail money could help further fuel that lending machine.