Blackstone has reported inflows of $68.5bn (£50.8bn) in the first quarter of 2026, as its credit and insurance strategies raked in $37bn.
The first-quarter inflows brought the global alternative management giant’s total assets under management (AUM) to $1.4tn, with fee-earning AUM up nine per cent year-over-year to $937.6bn.
Read more: Blackstone Q4 inflows hit three-year high driven by credit unit
AUM in Blackstone’s credit and insurance segment increased 18 per cent to $457.5bn in the first three months of the year.
Inflows into credit and insurance in the quarter included $17.3bn for the firm’s global direct lending strategy, and $10.9bn for its infrastructure and asset-based credit strategies.
Meanwhile, $1.9bn of equity was raised for the Blackstone Private Credit Fund (BCRED), despite a surge in investor redemptions in March.
To meet redemption requests at the time, Blackstone increased the typical five per cent quarterly repurchase limit for BCRED to seven per cent of the fund’s total shares, and stepped in to offset the remaining 0.9 per cent.
“Blackstone delivered outstanding first‑quarter results despite the turbulent environment, highlighted by almost $70bn of inflows and positive appreciation across nearly all of our flagship strategies,” said Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone’s chairman and chief executive. “Our all-weather model protects us in these times of disruption while also allowing us to invest where we see the greatest opportunity.”
In its credit and insurance unit, deployments were $13bn in the quarter, driven by global direct lending, and $66.7bn over the past 12 months.
Fee-earning AUM grew to $313.3bn in the first quarter, up 14 per cent year-on-year.
However, investment gains fell in the three-month period, with net realisations down 74 per cent compared to a year earlier, to $41.2m from $159m.
Blackstone closed three new collateralised loan obligations in the quarter, two US and one European vehicle, for $1.8bn.
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