Wall Street veteran Byron Wien was recently hired by private equity firm Blackstone Group as a senior strategist, reporting directly to Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and COO Tony James.
Wien was formerly senior strategist at the giant hedge fund Pequot Capital Management, and before that, at Morgan Stanley. He’s well-known for publishing his annual forecast of ten surprises for the year, according to a report by Reuters.
Not surprisingly, Wien sees opportunities ahead for Blackstone’s private equity funds, especially in the areas of private equity, real estate and distressed debt. He thinks the economy has probably turned the corner, and that the U.S. may even have a positive quarter before the end of this year.
But banks will only start lending in earnest when they get toxic assets off their balance sheets, something that may take another 3-6 months. This would finally revitalize lending markets, a key for closing leveraged buyout deals of any significant size.
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