Blackstone Group’s (NYSE:BX) new buyout fund was already large last December, at $15B, according to the Wall Street Journal. Since then, the buyout fund has seen increased interest and is now sized at $16B, according to people close to the matter.Blackstone's importance in new funds marks that investors proceed to go to brand-name private-equity and hedge funds, occasionally disregarding smaller firms.Blackstone has a potential upside of 27.9% based on a current price of $16.86 and an average consensus analyst price target of $21.56.