CAIS Live Conversations, Building With Alts

Private wealth, private markets access, and portfolio construction anchor this conversation with Joan Solotar, Global Head of Blackstone Private Wealth. Joan joins Brad Walker to trace her path from equity research to leading one of the firm’s fastest-growing businesses, and how Blackstone scaled from a small firm to more than a trillion dollars in assets. She shares her thoughts on what she believes the industry is getting right on advisor education and her views on private investments. She also discusses real estate, private credit, the IPO outlook, and how she thinks about AI.  

Chapter 1: Joan Solotar's Path Into Finance (03:51)
Chapter 2: Building Blackstone Private Wealth (05:57)
Chapter 3: The Private Wealth Buildout (11:36)
Chapter 4: Scaling Advisor Support (19:50)
Chapter 5: Access and Portfolio Design (26:04)
Chapter 6: Technology, Friction, and Adoption (32:31)
Chapter 7: Real Estate and Private Credit (34:51)
Chapter 8: IPOs, AI, and Career Advice (43:48)

Episode Notes: 
  • 00:38:28:07 - 00:39:12:03: “During Covid, I think we marked that fund down by 8% in a single month.” – This is in reference to total net return.
  • 00:42:14:14 - 00:42:38:18: “Now many firms will have to work through a big Q so it's not just new redemptions coming in. They still have to work through those that were prorated.” - This refers to the market generally and not a particular Blackstone fund or strategy.
  • 00:42:38:18 - 00:43:09:08: “I think you'll still have folks who want to be in private credit because it's a good yield, you know, close to nine, 10%, so much better than what you can get in other parts of fixed income.” - This refers to the market generally and not a particular Blackstone fund or strategy.

Creators and Guests

Host
Brad Walker
Co-President
Guest
Joan Solotar
Global Head of Blackstone Private Wealth

What is CAIS Live Conversations, Building With Alts ?

CAIS Live Conversations: Building With Alts, tackles the often untapped potential of alternative investments by sitting down with the various players in the alts ecosystem. Listen in as we dive into alternative investments from the perspective of industry experts, RIA executives, IBD executives, alts manager leaders, and alts experts. Hear what other advisors are doing, learn about new technology, and join us as we turn investment complexities into real-life concepts that could potentially help diversify and drive growth in the independent space.