Blackstone

By acquiring a minority stake in Blackstone’s French logistics platform Proudreed, the Canadian pension fund is exploring 'creative ways' to invest in Europe, says regional head of real estate Tom Jackson.

The world’s largest data center REIT by footprint is planning several fund series. Next incoming is a US open-end fund for which a cornerstone raise of up to $3bn is targeted.

The firm’s chairman and CEO said physical assets and asset-based credit are better protected from technological disruption than corporate credit.

While fundraising volume fell 50% year-on-year in Q1 2026, more funds hit or exceeded their targets and took less time to reach final close.

The initiative marks the New York-based firm’s push into raising and deploying private wealth capital in core-plus real estate.

Asia’s insulation, overweight appetites for the region’s developed markets and a still-early AI-driven data center opportunity were key themes at this year’s conference for chairman, La Caisse’s George Agethen.

This year’s PERE Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Artemis Real Estate Partners co-founder Deborah Harmon, has proven that championing diversity and delivering strong performance are not mutually exclusive.