Blackstone’s Real Estate Trust Limits Withdrawals for Sixth Straight Month

(Bloomberg) — Blackstone Inc.’s $70 billion real estate trust for wealthy individuals limited redemptions for a sixth straight month.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Investors asked to redeem $4.5 billion in April from Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, the same amount shareholders sought to pull in March, according to a letter Monday. BREIT allowed $1.3 billion to be withdrawn, or about 29% of the amount requested.

“We remain confident that BREIT’s portfolio will continue to be well-positioned to deliver strong long-term performance and consistent distributions, while providing investors access to the diversification benefits of high-quality real estate as a core portfolio holding,” according to the letter.

The fund became a force in the real estate industry in recent years, making big bets on apartments, student housing and warehouses. As it took in cash at a blistering pace, BREIT came to symbolize Blackstone’s growing reach to individuals around the world, beyond its mainstay clients of pensions and endowments.

Now, a global dash for cash is testing investment giants’ growth ambitions.

Last year, more investors sought to pull money out amid market turmoil, prompting BREIT to limit redemptions. The real estate trust restricts withdrawals to about 2% monthly, or 5% a quarter.

While a major share class of BREIT has generated 11.9% total annualized net returns since inception, the fund’s performance was negative in the first quarter. That’s because interest rate hedges fell in value when yields declined in March. Those instruments, designed to protect against rising interest rates, buoyed the fund last year.

Blackstone said in a statement that BREIT has delivered on “strong” performance relative to indexes.

The broader commercial-property industry has come under pressure as borrowing costs surged. Distress is popping up in the office sector as landlords confront a drop in demand given the rise in remote and hybrid work. BREIT said in the letter Monday that it has “virtually no exposure” to challenged sectors such as commodity office buildings, and that the vast majority of investors stayed with the fund in April.

The real estate trust is mostly invested in rental housing and industrial properties, sectors in which BREIT sees stronger fundamentals and cash flows.

A tightening lending environment for commercial property could ultimately help by limiting new development, Blackstone President Jon Gray said in a recent Bloomberg Television interview.

“The one benefit to existing owners is that construction lending is getting tighter,” he said. “I think we will see less new supply and long-term, that’s a positive.”

(Updates with Blackstone statement in eighth paragraph.)