Blackstone NYSE:BX said its private equity fund for wealthy individuals delivered its strongest-ever monthly performance in May, helped by its investment in AI company Anthropic. Class I shares in Blackstone Private Equity Strategies, known as BXPE, posted net returns of 4.3% in May, lifting year-to-date gains to 11.4%, according to an investor letter seen by Bloomberg. The fund also deployed more than $2.5 billion in the second quarter, including an additional investment in Anthropic and a bet on payment processor Stripe.
The stronger performance could signal a more favorable backdrop for private equity after years of pressure on buyouts and initial public offerings. Blackstone said in the letter that it is seeing a more constructive exit environment, with increased IPO activity including SpaceX's public offering, which the firm expects could support realizations across BXPE's portfolio. A representative for Blackstone declined to comment, while Blackstone President Jon Gray recently said there may be an underestimation of the power of the firm's wealth franchise.
BXPE's structure gives it flexibility to deploy about 30% of its net asset value into independent deals that may not fit Blackstone's institutional funds, allowing it to pursue AI-linked investments and longer-duration assets. The fund has backed Anthropic, OpenAI, CoreWeave NASDAQ:CRWV, Stripe, and SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX, giving wealthy investors exposure to some of the most closely watched private technology names. Since its 2024 inception, BXPE Class I shares have returned 19.1%, according to the letter, after delivering a net 20% gain last year.