Blackstone’s inflows reach $63 billion as rising rates slow private equity and real estate exits

Blackstone’s inflows reached $63 billion in the third quarter, with positive momentum across its major fundraising efforts, chairman and chief executive Stephen Schwarzman said⁴. The shares rose 6% after the firm beat earnings expectations⁴. Net income rose and total assets under management were up 10%⁷.

Assets under management topped $1.37tn⁶. Perpetual capital assets under management reached $562.3 billion, up 12%⁷. The credit and insurance business pulled in $35.8bn in the quarter⁶.

Rising rates hit the firm’s core businesses². Proceeds from asset sales in the private-equity unit fell 49%, and real estate exits also slowed². Real estate dragged on third-quarter earnings growth⁸.

Why it matters to investors

Blackstone said it sees widening credit spreads as a chance to capture higher returns¹. One account said the remark concerned spreads on AI-related debt⁵. Accounts differ on who made it: an early report attributed it to Schwarzman, while a corrected version attributed it to chief operating officer Jon Gray and removed the reference to Schwarzman^1,5.

Schwarzman acknowledged the risks in the AI space but said the possible upside represents an opportunity of a lifetime⁸. On data centres, he said: “Current public attitudes towards data centers will likely only amplify this scarcity”³.

The results split along business lines. Fundraising and credit were strong, with $63 billion of inflows and $35.8bn into credit and insurance, while higher rates slowed private equity sales and real estate exits^2,4,6. For investors in listed alternative managers, that mix shows how the firm’s businesses are diverging under higher rates^2,7. Total assets under management grew 10%, while perpetual capital grew faster, at 12%⁷.

What to watch

The pace of exits is the weakest part of the results, with proceeds from private equity asset sales down 49%². Whether real estate stops dragging on earnings growth is a second test⁸.

The firm’s bet on wider credit spreads, including on AI-related debt, is the other thread to follow, as the firm has said it sees them as a chance to capture higher returns^1,5. Its view of data centre scarcity ties that bet to public attitudes toward the buildings³.