Blackstone, Other Large Private-Equity Firms Turn Attention to Vast Retail Market

Private-equity firms have spent decades raking in giant sums from pension funds and other big institutions. Now they are going hat in hand to a different kind of investor: everyday millionaires.

Some of the biggest firms, including Blackstone Inc., Blue Owl Capital Inc., Apollo Global Management Inc. and Ares Management Corp. , have created a host of new products aimed at people with $1 million to $5 million in investible assets and are hiring armies of staff to market them to private banks and independent financial advisers.