Blackstone Inc (BX US) and Pershing Square Holdings (PSHZF US)
I noted you added to both of these positions but before I follow your move I’m wondering if these companies are exposed heavily to private credit.
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Answer
Hi Vivien,
Blackstone (BX US) is one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, with private credit a core pillar of its business alongside private equity and real estate. The group lends directly to companies and manages significant pools of capital in private debt strategies, making it highly leveraged to the growth of non-bank lending (private credit). As such, BX benefits from strong demand in private credit but also carries exposure to the credit cycle.
- It’s the exposure to Private Credit which has caused much of the stocks ~40% pullback over the last 6-months.
BX has been caught up in the sell-off across alternative managers as markets zero in on private credit’s exposure to software, and the growing concern that AI could compress SaaS moats, pressure cashflows and ultimately lift default risk. We remain positive on what we still regard as the world’s best alternative asset manager, but how long concerns around software credit and defaults will continue to dominate sentiment, at least in the short term.
Pershing Square Holdings (PSHZF US) by contrast, is a concentrated public equity vehicle run by Bill Ackman, focused on a small number of high-conviction listed investments. It does not operate private credit funds or lend directly, meaning exposure to private credit is minimal and indirect at best. In simple terms, BX is a major private credit player, while PSH remains an equity-driven strategy, trading at a big discount to the value of its underlying portfolio.
- We discussed the stock in detail earlier in the year Here, worth a read to get a good handle on the business.
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Blackstone Inc (BX US) v Pershing Square Holdings (PSHZF US)
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Blackstone Inc (BX US) v Pershing Square Holdings (PSHZF US)
