The chairman, chief executive and co-founder of Blackstone Group has said that the alternative asset manager expects to raise $13.3bn for its new real estate fund, making it one of the most powerful investors in the sector.

Stephen Schwarzman, speaking on Blackstone's second quarter results call yesterday, said: "We've raised over $12bn in capital and we are extremely confident that we'll hit the hard cap of $13.3bn when we have the final close. This gives us by far the largest pool of dry powder at a time when we are seeing highly attractive investment opportunities."