Jon Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone Group discusses the company’s quarterly earnings as well future investments, market recovery from the coronavirus crisis, the Fed’s policy measures to prop up the economy and more. Gray said the $1 billion deal came as Blackstone's StrategicPartners raised a new $3.8 billion infrastructure-focusedsecondaries fund as well as one targeting real estate.

His advice to advisors looking to respond to that challenging investment environment is to “find themes in areas where you have more convictions where there's more growth.” Gray used the aforementioned life sciences sector as an example of a sector in which he was bullish because of the increasing use of big data and the advances in precision medicine.With the rapid speed at which technology is transforming these sectors, new entrants are coming in at a rapid pace and seeking not only capital but operating expertise and relationships, according to Gray.

Sign in to like videos, comment, and subscribe. from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. Blackstone Group Inc. (BX) agreed to acquire a nearly $1 billion infrastructure investment portfolio from Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., according to a person familiar with the matter.The person said Blackstone signed the deal a few weeks ago. That approach has recently led to the firm investing in a few major properties just down the road from where Gray was speaking, the Bellagio, MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay casinos.I'm a wealth management staff writer at Forbes based in New York. In 2019, the value of all secondary transactions reached$85.41 billion, Setter said.The value of the Blackstone deal approached $1 billion whenunfunded commitments were included, the person said.Mr. NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blackstone (NYSE:BX) announced today that Tony James, President and Chief Operating Officer, will be handing over day-to-day management of the firm to Jon Gray, Global Head of Real Estate.Mr. The Blackstone Group L.P. Blog on Talkmarkets | Page 1. "Several weeks ago, [Strategic Partners] acquired $1 billion ininfrastructure secondary interests, which we believe is thelargest-ever transaction in the sector," Mr. Gray said on the call.He didn't elaborate or identify the seller.While infrastructure secondary deals declined more than 4% inthis year's first half compared with the same period in 2019, totalsecondary transactions plunged about 56% to $20.2 billion,including $17.46 billion involving private-equity funds, Settersaid. I'm a wealth management staff writer at Forbes based in New York. I also covered publicBlackstone President and COO Jonathan Gray, speaking to the assembled group of financial advisors at the Forbes/SHOOK Top Advisor Summit at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, said that he expects to see “slow and steady growth” despite a tough investment environment.In the midst of a historic economic expansion, Gray does not see the troubling signs of a bubble that have been present in the past, namely preceding the financial crisis where there was “tons of leverage in the system.” He went on to say that other factors that lead to a recession were not present, specifically mentioning excess home building, excess commercial real estate building and financial institutions being out of control.This was not the only area in which he said that technological investments were changing the economics. Blackstone Group Inc. (NYSE: BX) President Jon Gray believes that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought "actionable opportunities" for …

Prior to joining Forbes, I was on the same beat for Private Asset Management. Sign in. Blackstone Group Inc. (NYSE: BX) President Jon Gray believes that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought "actionable opportunities" for … He said that technology was making a significant impact in several arenas, including but not limited to financial services, energy, retail and media.“The simple fact is that multiples are high for most asset classes driven by these very low interest rates and growth is low,” Gray said. It is unclear who the prospective buyerfor the private-equity assets was.The survey showed that sovereign funds accounted for just 6.7%of all secondary transactions.

Follow me on Twitter at @JBisnoff.With all that considered, he said that the coronavirus outbreak has thrown a wild card into that picture. In his senior year at University of Pennsylvania, not long before accepting an offer to work at Blackstone Group Inc., Jon Gray put down a book at the library to ask out Mindy Basser. Prior to joining Forbes, I was on the same beat for Private Asset Management.