BY COMFORT OGBONNA
Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has agreed to boost payouts to investors from its private credit fund this quarter, resulting in net outflows, according to a securities filing on Monday.
Investors in the $82 billion Blackstone Private Credit Fund (BCRED), who are typically allowed to redeem up to 5% of their holdings each quarter, requested a total of 7.9% in the first quarter. Based on the fund’s current valuation, this represented $3.7 billion, exceeding the $2 billion in new commitments, leaving the fund with net outflows of $1.7 billion.
Concerns have grown in the private credit market over questions around valuations, transparency, and broader credit quality, particularly following two high-profile bankruptcies last year. Open-ended funds like BCRED, which cater to wealthy individual investors, have come under particular pressure in recent weeks.
“Total repurchase requests for the quarter exceeded the 5% of shares typically available for repurchase,” Blackstone said, adding that it would increase the redemption limit to 7% of the fund’s value to accommodate investors. An additional 0.9% of requested redemptions will be covered by $400 million invested directly by Blackstone and its employees, ensuring that all investor requests are satisfied.
Blackstone emphasized that the move was driven by the fund’s structure rather than any constraints on BCRED’s liquidity, underlining that the fund remains well-positioned to meet obligations despite elevated redemption demand.
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