Blackstone's AUM jumps 7.1% in Q4

Blackstone Group reported Thursday a record $265.8 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, up 7.1% from Sept. 30 and up 26.5% from the previous year.

The firm has $46.8 billion in unspent committed capital, known as dry power, according to a company statement.

Blackstone's real estate AUM totaled $79.4 billion, a 15.1% increase from the end of the previous quarter and a 40% increase from a year before. The company closed on $15.8 billion in new capital in the real estate business in 2013, a record for the business.

Performance fees for the fourth quarter totaled $1.7 billion, up 212% from the previous quarter and up 259% from the year-ago quarter.

Because of the higher performance fees, Blackstone also reported a record economic net income for the quarter of $3.5 billion. The ENI differs from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Under those standards, known as GAAP, Blackstone had net income of $621.3 million, compared with $106.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.