Alt Investments
Blackstone Tries To Woo Rich Investors As Wealth Sector Ambitions Expand - Report

Not just content with buying a wealth management business, alternatives investment powerhouse Blackstone wants individuals with at least $10 billion to invest in Blackstone’s funds.
Not just content with buying a wealth management business,
alternatives investment powerhouse Blackstone wants
individuals with at least $10 billion to invest in Blackstone’s
funds, according to Bloomberg.
The co-founder of Blackstone, Steve Schwarzman, is eyeing such
investors as a source of fresh capital, the publication said.
The firm has created Blackstone Total Alternatives Solution
Advisors to pool money from wealthy families and high-net worth
individuals, the report said, citing a regulatory filing in June.
This unit seeks clients for a fund of funds that will invest in
the firm’s buyout, real estate, credit and hedge funds.
Private wealth accounts for 12 per cent of the $272 billion that
Blackstone oversees in total, the report said, adding that a
spokesperson for the firm has declined to comment on the
issue.
The report cited comments stating that Blackstone has been
meeting with family offices and individuals with as much as $20
billion who have considered investing directly with it.
Last week, Blackstone agreed to buy Lombard
International Assurance, the firm that provides services such
as wealth management products, from its parent, UK-based Friends
Life Group, for €399 million ($542.7 million). The sale follows
media speculation earlier this year that a deal was in the works.
Lombard is headquartered in Luxembourg. The sale is subject to
regulatory approvals and completion is expected in the second
half of 2014.
The Lombard business focuses on areas such as wealth planning
solutions for ultra high net worth individuals, in areas such as
private placement life insurance, an area of continued growth and
development in the wealth management sector. As explained on its
website, the business “pioneered private bancassurance solutions
that use life assurance as a sophisticated financial planning
tool incorporating the invaluable benefit of Luxembourg’s solid
insurance policyholder protection regime”. The business doesn’t
directly market to end-clients but works with private banks and
other intermediaries.
To view recent results for Blackstone, click here.