Blackstone’s private credit business delivered gross returns of 15.7 per cent across 2024, and 3.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year.
The strong performance of its private credit segment, combined with stellar returns across the private markets division, helped to deliver one of the best quarters in the asset manager’s history.
According to the firm’s full-year results, net income – calculated using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) – was $1.3bn (£1bn) for the quarter and $5.4bn for the year.
Total assets under management (AUM) reached $1,127.2bn for 2024 – representing an eight per cent year-on-year rise. This was comprised of fee-earning AUM of $830.7bn and perpetual capital AUM of $444.8bn.
Read more: Blackstone buys into Santander’s $1bn infrastructure loan portfolio
Blackstone reported inflows of $57.5bn during the fourth quarter, and $171.5bn for the year.
The firm deployed $41.6bn in the quarter and $133.9bn across the year.
“Blackstone reported one of the best quarters in our history,” said Steve Schwarzman, chairman and chief executive of Blackstone.
“Earnings growth accelerated sharply, while the key drivers of our business – inflows, investment activity and realisations – all reached their highest levels in two-and-a-half years. Blackstone’s distinctive ability to innovate and build market-leading businesses continues to power our growth.
“As we move forward in 2025, the firm is exhibiting significant momentum.”
While private credit was one of the top-performing segments for the alternative asset manager last year, its returns were overshadowed by Blackstone’s corporate private equity and infrastructure businesses, which saw annual gross returns of 16.6 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively.
Read more: Blackstone guides to Q4 realised revenues and income of more than $775m
Liquid credit delivered annual gross returns of 9.5 per cent, and a quarterly return of 2.4 per cent.
Opportunistic real estate saw the only losses across Blackstone’s alternatives portfolio in 2024, with gross returns of -3.7 per cent for the year, and -5.1 per cent for the fourth quarter.
The total AUM of the company’s credit and insurance segment – which is made up of the private credit and liquid credit strategies – increased by 20 per cent to $375.5bn by the end of 2024, with inflows of $34.2bn in the quarter and $91.2bn for the year.
Inflows for credit and insurance across the quarter included $14.5bn for the global direct lending strategy, inclusive of $3.1bn of equity raised for the firm’s flagship private credit fund BCRED, and $9.9bn for infrastructure and asset based credit strategies.
In terms of capital deployment, $21.6bn was allocated from this segment during the fourth quarter, and $63.8bn was deployed over the course of the year. These allocations were driven by US direct lending as well as infrastructure and asset based credit strategies.
By the end of the year, Blackstone had $168.6bn in total dry powder.
Read more: Blackstone private credit fund raises $1.5bn from bond sale and CLO
