Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (Baam) saw its net assets increase by nearly $3bn in 2018, according to its latest earnings statement.
The $77.8bn hedge fund solutions unit enjoyed record gross inflows of $13.3bn for the year, but this was offset by $10.8bn in outflows.
In the last quarter of 2018, $3.1bn in outflows outweighed $2.6bn of inflows, with total assets for the unit declining by 2.7% from the $80bn managed as of 30 September.
Those redemptions were not the group’s weightiest however, as it saw outflows of $4.5bn in the second quarter, while the third quarter saw investors pull $1.9bn.
Composite gross returns were down 2.3% in the fourth quarter, while fees of $ 74m collected by the unit over the period fell by 8% compared to the $80m earned in Q4 2017.
By comparison, full-year fee earnings for 2018 totalled $283m, compared to $303m earned in 2017.
The world’s largest FoHF said that its latest asset figures do not include subscriptions of $1.1bn which were posted in January.
Officials say that increased inflows last year were primarily driven by continued platform diversification and growth in customised strategies and individual investor solutions.
Despite Baam’s muted asset growth, CIO John McCormick told HFM InvestHedge towards the end of last year that he was optimistic about the firm’s prospects, pointing to its direct investing, general partner stakes and registered funds businesses as the most promising.
Blackstone’s firm-wide assets grew by 9% over the year, from $434bn at the end of 2017 to $472bn 12 months on, driven by $100bn in inflows as well as performance-related gains.
Stephen Schwarzman, chairman, said: “Blackstone again delivered attractive investment performance for our limited partners in 2018, with nearly all of our flagship strategies handily beating their relevant indices despite significant market volatility.
Blackstone reports muted asset growth in 2018 despite record inflows on HFM InvestHedge.