Blackstone Group hopes to double its managed assets to $800m

Blackstone Group could double its assets under management to $800 billion in five years, according to chief executive Steve Schwarzman.

"We have internal targets, plans, aspirations to basically double where we are which would take us to $800 billion," Mr Schwarzman said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Riyadh on Wednesday. When asked whether the New York-based asset manager could be a trillion-dollar fund, he said: "That's possible."

Mr Schwarzman said last week that he expects Blackstone's assets to continue rising in the fourth quarter. The company is raising money for its new infrastructure fund, and it's making a foray into early-stage growth investing, president Tony James said.

Overseeing $387.4 billion across private equity, real estate, credit and hedge funds as of September 30th, Blackstone is considered a bellwether for the alternative asset industry. The firm added an additional $10 billion this week with the acquisition of energy investor Harvest Fund Advisors.