And yes, it's true that Blackstone turned to the University of California to bolster the fund by announcing not one, but two, investments within the course of a month, totaling $4.5 billion at very generous terms.
And yes, it's also true that Blackstone had to tell investors again on Wednesday that investors were pulling money from BREIT. The fund hit its monthly redemption limit in January, Blackstone said in a notice posted on its website.
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And yes, Blackstone also announced some leadership changes on Wednesday that positioned longtime executive Frank Cohen to now focus on BREIT while Wesley LePatner was tapped to take over for Cohen as head of Core+, the firm's wider core real-estate investment strategy. Cohen will also take on a newly created role of Core+ chairman.
That's in addition to A.J. Murphy, an executive at Standard Investments, serving as Blackstone's new COO of corporate private equity and Heather von Zuben's appointment as COO of Blackstone's credit arm.
It's true all this news comes as Blackstone is preparing to wage war with tenants who live in buildings it owns by either raising their rent or outright evicting them. In fact, Blackstone-owned companies have already filed eviction lawsuits against hundreds of tenants in Georgia and Florida, per the Financial Times.
But everything is totally fine. In fact, as CEO Stephen Schwarzman and president Jon Gray both pointed out on the fourth-quarter earnings call, it's actually the media that's ruining all the fun. (Wait, what?)
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"The response to our performance has been extremely positive. In 2022, our sales in the private wealth channel totaled a remarkable $48 billion, not exactly what you're hearing in the media," Schwarzman said, according to a transcript of the call by research provider Sentieo.
"The media has created a different narrative, but the customers are fundamentally happy. That's why I believe as the world normalizes, we will again begin to see flows," Gray added.
As much as I enjoy poking fun at Blackstone, Schwarzman and Gray aren't necessarily wrong, to a degree. You can't really judge a fund like BREIT on a month-to-month basis. The fund posted a 8.4% return in 2022 and 12.5% return since its inception, according to Blackstone's website.
Still, no matter how much the two executives would like to spin it, you also can't deny it's been a tough few months for Blackstone's real-estate business.
If I might offer some unsolicited advice, perhaps the issue is perception.
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Luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe has a famous slogan that is both genius and vomit-inducing:
"You never really own a Patek Philippe. You simply look after it for the next generation."
Maybe BREIT could adopt a similar moniker?
"You never really own shares in BREIT. You simply hold them long enough for your children to cash them out for a house in the Hamptons."
2. Another Marcus mover. Goldman Sachs' ailing consumer business just lost another executive with the departure of Doug Villone, who was an MD and ran operations and customer service at Marcus. More on Villone's new role at Barclays.
3. Fintech abroad! We mapped out 27 of the most exciting European fintechs to watch in 2023, according to recommendations from more than a dozen of the top investors in the region. Check out the entire list here.
4. Rates go up... again. But it's not that bad! The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points, and it could be another nod toward us avoiding a recession altogether. More on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's thinking.
6. It's now JPMacht. The largest US bank by assets has its eyes set on Europe, specifically Germany, with plans for a new digital bank, Bloomberg reports. Here's why JPMorgan is betting big on Deutschland.
10. We got a tour of that hotel in Singapore with the crazy infinity pool you always see on Instagram. You know exactly the one I'm talking about. Here's a bunch of photos inside the Marina Bay Sands, which has suites that can run as high as $17,000 per night.
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