BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) is reportedly looking to raise a US $10 billion private equity fund which would replicate the buy and hold long-term investment strategy employed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A).
It would be the first attempt by BlackRock to make direct investments.
The new fund, known internally as a “long-term private capital” vehicle, will seek capital commitments from sovereign wealth funds, pensions and other institutional investors.
The new fund could possibly be headed by André Bourbonnais who resigned as President & CEO of PSP Investments to “join BlackRock later this year to lead a new initiative within BlackRock Alternative Investors.”
Bourbonnais will work along with his former Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) boss, now Chairman of BlackRock Alternative Investors, Mark Wiseman. André Bourbonnais previously worked under Wiseman most recently as Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Private Investments before joining PSP Investments. From 2001 to 2004, Bourbonnais served as President of Capital Communications CDPQ, a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CPDQ).
photo credit: BlackRock