BlackRock hits $14T asset record as it stands firm on private credit

BlackRock closed out 2025 with a record haul of client money and a deeper push into private credit, even as questions mount around rising defaults in that market and the health of smaller corporate borrowers.

The world's largest asset manager revealed Thursday that it hit $14.04 trillion in AUM at year-end, up 22% from a year earlier, helped by strong markets and hefty client inflows.

Net inflows reached $342 billion, beating analyst expectations, while base management fees rose 9% once market moves were stripped out. At the same time, quarterly net income fell 33% to $1.13 billion on one-time costs tied to an acquisition streak, though adjusted earnings of $13.16 a share topped Wall Street estimates.

Revenue climbed 23% to $7.01 billion, and the firm raised its quarterly dividend by 10%. BlackRock shares were up nearly 5% in morning trading following the earnings release.

A big piece of the growth story is alternatives. BlackRock reported $423.6 billion in alternative assets under management at quarter end, up from $290.6 billion a year earlier. Much of that was tied to HPS Investment Partners, the private credit manager it acquired in 2024.

Chief executive Larry Fink told analysts that the firm’s “pipeline of business has broadened across products and regions,” adding that BlackRock is “seeing excellent fundraising activity.”

That fundraising is increasingly aimed at wealth channels. On the earnings call, Fink said BlackRock’s distribution teams have been pitching HPS private credit strategies to advisors serving wealthy clients at wirehouses such as Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. 

A new BlackRock advisor survey found more than half of respondents, including three in four at wirehouses, now allocate to private assets, though average exposure in client portfolios is still modest at 7%.

Reporting by Business Insider pointed to data from S&P showing private credit strategies collected more than $220 billion in 2025 even as several high-profile deals, including auto parts supplier First Brands and auto lender Tricolor, have run into trouble. JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon warned in October that “when you see one cockroach, there’s probably more,” a line that has hung over the asset class as investors hunt for yield outside public markets.

BlackRock’s leadership argues that the risk picture is more nuanced. Chief financial officer Martin Small said the firm deployed $25 billion into private markets last year, including private lending, and is “generally seeing stable credit conditions” in its portfolios. He added that some of the recent headlines “often highlight isolated stress points rather than painting the full picture, but we generally see stable credit conditions across the portfolios that we’re managing.”

Small also pointed to a growing divide between smaller and larger corporate borrowers. A company with zero to $50 million of EBITDA “looks very different than a $100-$200 million EBITDA company in terms of the ability to generate earnings,” he said, noting that smaller borrowers with peak-era valuations and capital structures that did not anticipate a 3% to 4% neutral rate are most likely to feel pressure.

Behind the scenes, BlackRock is still adjusting its own cost base. The firm announced plans to cut about 250 roles in January, roughly 1% of its workforce, and it expects head count to be roughly flat in 2026, according to Small.