America’s latest educational movement centres on an unusual subject for students: private assets. At remote learning portals Apollo Academy, KKR Academy and Blackstone University the pupils are investment advisers with wealthy clients who might be a target for newfangled asset management products.
Retail-oriented private asset funds are no longer nascent. This week, Blackstone announced that its latest retail product, BXPE, had initially raised more than $1bn. It is a significant milestone for a vehicle that might be a difficult fit for ordinary, if affluent, Joes.
Blackstone’s previous retail hits in real estate and corporate loans collected either rent or interest payments. As such, they paid healthy distributions that compensated for their limited liquidity. BXPE will make equity investments in leveraged buyouts and the like. Here payouts are more erratic. While the overall returns upside is greater, so is the requirement for patience.