Private capital managers are launching products to capture growing demand from individual investors

September 27, 2024 (Preqin News) – US alternatives giant Blackstone is partnering with Italian insurance company Generali to offer private debt investment opportunities to individual investors in France.

Blackstone, which has credit and insurance AUM of $330bn, teamed up with French bank BNP Paribas in February to launch Blackstone European Private Credit Fund, an evergreen, semi-liquid direct lending vehicle.

Blackstone said the partnership with Generali aims to offer investment solutions tailored to the needs of French investors. ‘The French market presents immense opportunities and is a key driver of our European growth. This partnership reinforces our confidence in France as a preferred investment destination,’ said Anthony Guerra, Head of Blackstone Private Wealth Solutions France, Benelux & Monaco.

The focus will be on defensively positioned, floating-rate, senior secured private loans, and the fund has so far taken 109 positions. In July this year, the fund had a total asset value of €1.2bn, and a net asset value (NAV) of €61mn. The fund charges a 2.0% management fee and has a minimum commitment of €30,000, according to Preqin data.

The firm said the strategic partnership is a key step in Blackstone Private Wealth Solutions’ broader expansion into underpenetrated European markets, following on from other recent collaborations with UBS in Switzerland, UniCredit in Italy, Danke in Denmark, S-Pankki in Finland, and ING in The Netherlands.

Over 600 open-ended or semi-open-ended private debt funds have launched since 2022, according to Preqin data, capturing a growing demand from individual investor for private market assets, including private credit. Smaller investors are not able to access traditional private capital investment structures, because of the long-term capital lock-ups and high minimum investment levels.

Blackstone raised $7.5bn from private wealth in Q2 2024, accounting for 19% of total inflows of $39.4bn in the quarter. In H1 2024, the alternatives manager had raised a total of $13bn from individual investors.


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