The downtrend in shares of asset managers continued in March. By mid-month, Blackstone (BX) closed at around $141, down by 12.4% in the last month. Stock markets sold asset management investments in anticipation of investors selling their funds.
In February, AllianceBernstein (AB) reported assets under management fell by 0.5% to $805 billion. The stock market decline accounted for the entire AUM decline. Fund holders are not selling their investments in panic.
AB stock has excellent value. The forward P/E is 10.4 times.
Blackstone announced on March 7, 2025, that it would raise $8 billion. It sold commercial real estate debt, taking two years to raise the fund. The last CRE debt fund raised $8 billion as well and closed in September 2020. This new fund will make property loans while selling existing loans. Investors may also buy Blackstone Mortgage Trust (BXMT).
T. Rowe Price (TROW) broke down from its trading range of $105 – $120. Shares closed at $93.04 on March 14. AUM slipped by 1.4% to $1.63 trillion. Net outflow was $4.7 billion. TROW stock is not attractive if fund holders are reducing their holdings. Still, the dividend yield is 5.5%, which makes this company a stock to consider as a core income holding.
