Blackstone's Joan Solotar - early innings for private markets? It's still spring training

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode features an industry leader who has pioneered working with the wealth channel.

We talk with Joan Solotar, the Global Head of Private Wealth Solutions at Blackstone, where she also serves on the firm’s Management Committee. Joan has been responsible for leading Blackstone’s impressive work in the wealth channel. She’s grown the firm’s footprint in private wealth to over $250B in assets across Blackstone funds, making the wealth channel comprise roughly a quarter of Blackstone’s $1T AUM.

Blackstone Private Wealth Solutions’ mission is to bring institutional quality products across a broad spectrum of alternative asset classes to high net worth clients and their advisors.

Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Joan was Head of Equity Research at Bank of America Securities and a highly ranked Institutional Investor All Star financial services analyst at Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. She also serves on the Board of Directors at First Eagle Investment Management.

Joan and I had a fascinating conversation about how to build and scale a business in the wealth channel. We discussed:

• How Blackstone built a $250B AUM business in the wealth channel across Blackstone funds.
• How Joan’s background in equity research helped her as she built a business for the wealth channel.
• The early days of building Blackstone’s Private Wealth Solutions business.
• Where, why, and how private markets can fit into a portfolio.
• How model portfolios will evolve.
• Why private markets are no longer an alternative.
• How to build an effective brand in asset management.

Thanks Joan for coming on the show to share your wisdom and expertise on private markets and your work with the wealth channel.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.

To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.

Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at gharris@ultimusfundsolutions.com.

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes
00:00 Message from our Sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

01:18 Alt Goes Mainstream Theme Song

02:02 Guest Introduction: Joan Solotar

03:45 Joan's Background 

05:00 Early Days at Blackstone

06:39 Challenges in Private Wealth Business

08:31 Convincing Advisors

10:44 Growth of Private Wealth Business

11:12 Advisor Allocation to Private Markets

13:27 Understanding Liquidity and Risk

14:36 Educating Advisors on Private Markets

15:55 Client Demand for Private Markets

17:08 Portfolio Construction and Alternatives

20:56 Ease of Use in Private Investments

21:23 Model Portfolios and Private Investments

22:32 Advisor Relationships with Blackstone

24:10 Differentiating Blackstone's Experience

25:19 Commitment to Advisors

25:40 Commitment from Blackstone's Leadership

27:27 Complexity of Selling Private Investments

28:54 Blackstone's Growth and Future Goals

29:53 Importance of Brand and Marketing

31:14 Integration of Marketing and Sales

31:38 Educating Blackstone's Team

31:56 Blackstone's Training Programs

34:50 Weekly Global Meetings

36:44 Humanizing Blackstone's Team

39:07 Blackstone's Holiday Video

40:14 Consumer-Facing Investments

41:27 Joan's Favorite Investment Theme: AI

41:59 Blackstone's AI Investment Strategy

43:19 Conclusion of the Podcast

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.