Blackstone and BNP Paribas partner on retail private debt fund
Blackstone and BNP Paribas are partnering on a new private debt fund for individual investors in France.
The ‘Blackstone European Private Credit Fund’ will invest in large European companies, allowing investors to diversify their assets and earn higher returns through floating rate private debt.
The evergreen fund has been launched with exclusive early access until 5 April for clients of BNP Private Wealth management and insurer BNP Paribas Cardif.
“We are delighted to partner with BNP Paribas Wealth Management and Cardif to bring our European private credit strategy to their clients,” said Rashmi Madan, head of EMEA for Blackstone Private Wealth Solutions.
Read more: Blackstone sees growth in private credit funds in fourth quarter
“This initiative is part of our mission to expand individual investors’ access to private markets in France and across Europe. France is a key market for us, and we see strong appetite from individual investors to diversify their portfolio to include private markets.”
Private debt funds, which were traditionally the preserve of institutional investors, are increasingly tapping into the wealth market to expand their sources of funding and meet demand from high-net-worth individuals for increased returns.
“We are pleased to launch exclusive access to this private debt unit-linked for our French private clients,” said Nicolas Otton, Head of BNP Paribas Banque Privée.
“It will enable them to invest in attractive European companies through senior secured loans and to strengthen their portfolio diversification. BNP Paribas Banque Privée has solid internal expertise in private markets, enabling us to work with the best-in-class asset managers, such as Blackstone.”
Apollo Global Management has also been open about its ambitions to attract wealthy retail investors wishing to diversify away from public markets.
Last week, managing director Veronique Fournier said that the firm is “well on track” to raise $50bn (£39.8bn) from the wealth market for its private capital products by 2026.