Blackstone’s Changing of the Guard

After handing down the reins of the hedge fund business, the firm has also brought in a potential investment strategist successor for its private wealth business.

Blackstone’s New York Headquarters (Courtesy Google Maps).

Blackstone’s New York Headquarters

(Courtesy Google Maps).

The Blackstone Group has hired from outside for a leadership position in its private wealth management division, the company announced Friday.

Joseph Zidle, a portfolio strategist for Richard Bernstein Advisors, will join the alternatives giant as a managing director responsible for “developing and delivering investment strategy content to private wealth investors in Blackstone’s funds,” the announcement said.

Byron Wien, vice chairman of the group, has fulfilled that function and long been the face of Blackstone’s retail business. Wien’s annual “Ten Surprises” lists received close attention from the industry, and, according to the statement, from Zidle himself.

“I, like so many in the industry, closely follow and admire Byron’s insights, and I look forward to collaborating with him to help inform the firm and its investors,” the incoming managing director said.

Wein turns 85 in February, the Wall Street Journal reported. He will work closely with Zidle on analysis and commentary.

News of this hire comes one day after Blackstone announced a leadership transition in its hedge fund business.

[II Deep Dive: Blackstone’s J. Tomilson Hill, Institutional Investor 2017 Lifetime Achievement Honoree]

J. Tomilson Hill is stepping back from the day-to-day running of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management and into its chairmanship, the company said. John McCormick succeeds Hill as president and CEO of the group, which is the world’s biggest hedge fund allocator with $75 billion under management.

“Transitions like these speak to the depth of talent across the firm and the way the firm plans for the future,” Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman said in a statement.

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