🎥 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.

Clip #1: How early are we?

Clip #2: How do you educate the wealth channel about private markets?

Clip #3: There is no alternative.

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 [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes

00:00 Introduction to our Sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

02:02 Guest Introduction: Joan Solotar

03:26 Welcoming Joan to the Podcast

03:45 Joan's Career Journey

05:21 Building a Business in the Wealth Channel

06:59 Early Challenges in Private Wealth

07:49 Challenges and Skepticism

08:39 Convincing Advisors and Building Trust

10:16 Growth and Market Development

10:57 Current State of Wealth Channel Allocations

11:02 Growth in Private Wealth

11:18 Spring Training in Wealth Channel

12:02 Needle Movers in Wealth Channel

12:29 Expanding Offerings and Deepening Relationships

13:01 Importance of Sticky Assets

13:17 Evolution of Wealth Management and Private Markets

13:42 Liquidity vs. Illiquidity

14:58 Educating Advisors on Private Investments

16:21 Client Demand and Advisor Tools

17:35 Portfolio Construction and Branding

18:16 Early Days of Portfolio Construction with Alts

18:46 Naming the Asset Classes

19:54 Importance of Private Investments

20:01 Growth-Oriented Portfolios

21:26 Ease of Use in Private Investments

22:06 Model Portfolios and Private Investments

23:01 Advisor Trust and Brand

25:01 Differentiated Experience at Blackstone

25:07 Client Interaction and Support

26:30 Commitment from Blackstone Leadership

28:29 Complexity of Wealth Channel Sales

29:19 Longer Sales Process and Education

31:04 Brand and Marketing in Wealth Channel

32:34 Integration of Marketing and Sales

33:16 Training and Education at Blackstone

34:53 Blackstone University

36:24 Blackstone's Global Meetings and Training

38:29 Humanizing the Team

41:05 Blackstone's Holiday Video

42:14 Consumer-Facing Investments

43:22 Favorite Alternative Investment

43:30 AI and Investment Opportunities

45:28 Conclusion and Farewell

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

Join over 9,000 thought leaders from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield Oaktree, EQT, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com