Office address: 50 Hudson Yards New York, NY 10001
Website: www.blackrock.com
Year established: 1988
Company type: investment company
Employees: 19,800+
Expertise: asset management, risk management, ETFs (iShares), fixed income, alternative investments, wealth management, retirement solutions, private equity, infrastructure, real estate, sustainable investing, financial technology
Parent company: N/A
Key people: Larry Fink (CEO), Rob Kapito (president), Joud Abdel Majeid (global head), Stephen Cohen (CPO), Ed Fishwick (CRO), Rob Goldstein (COO), Martin Small (CFO), Chris Meade (CLO)
Financing status: N/A
BlackRock is a global investment company from New York, offering asset management, advisory, and risk management services. The firm manages $11.5 trillion in assets as of October 2024 and operates in over 38 countries. With over 19,800 employees, the company serves clients in more than 100 countries, helping them achieve long-term financial well-being through innovative financial solutions.
BlackRock was founded in 1988 by Laurence Fink and seven partners, driven by a desire to manage assets with a focus on risk management and client interests. The company quickly grew, and in 1999, it launched Aladdin, its proprietary technology that transformed the risk management industry. During the 2008 financial crisis, the company was tapped by the Federal Reserve to assess Bear Stearns' assets, playing a crucial advisory role.
In 2009, it acquired Barclays Global Investors, becoming the world's largest asset manager and integrating both active and index strategies. In 2017, the company deepened its focus on investment stewardship, emphasizing the long-term value of purpose in profitability. By 2024, it partnered with Vestmark to boost model portfolios, further expanding its offerings for registered investment advisors.
BlackRock offers a wide range of investment products and services designed to meet the diverse needs of its clients. Below are the some of their key offerings:
BlackRock’s global team provides insights on markets, economies, and long-term strategies, helping clients navigate the complexities of investing. Whether it is a professional or a new investor, their services aim to support financial success while also empowering employees and giving back to communities.
BlackRock’s culture is built on a commitment to its clients, employees, and core principles. The company focuses on employee growth, offering benefits that support physical, emotional, and financial well-being. The firm provides various resources and benefits to keep employees engaged and balanced, some of which include:
The firm’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is central to its success, fostering an environment where employees feel a sense of belonging. The company’s global platform thrives by incorporating diverse perspectives to deliver the best outcomes for clients. By embracing unique skills and experiences, they empower employees to collaborate effectively and contribute to a shared mission:
The company’s social impact focuses on making financial prosperity accessible to more people and communities. The BlackRock Foundation supports low- to moderate-income households by helping them save, invest, and build wealth. Initiatives include:
BlackRock’s approach to corporate sustainability focuses on long-term value for shareholders, employees, communities, and clients. The company is committed to transparency, providing stakeholders with meaningful sustainability-related information.
Laurence Fink is company’s chairman, CEO, and founder, also serving on the boards of NYU and the World Economic Forum. Before founding BlackRock in 1988, he was a managing director at The First Boston Corporation. Fink earned a BA in political science and an MBA in real estate from UCLA.
The company’s key leadership team includes notable figures who lead the firm’s operations across global markets:
To prepare for potential market volatility, BlackRock advises financial professionals to reduce risk and shift toward safer investment options. With uncertainty ahead, particularly due to macroeconomic concerns and the upcoming elections, the firm highlights the importance of defensive strategies like the BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC). This strategic adjustment also reflects their broader move toward active management, signaling its belief in a more hands-on approach during turbulent times.
The company recently reached an $11.5 trillion milestone in assets under management by the third quarter of 2024. This growth was driven by strong client inflows, notably into ETFs, fixed income, and private assets. BlackRock is accelerating its push into private assets, following acquisitions like Global Infrastructure Partners, and continues to lead in both public and private markets.
As a new crop of money managers and investment banks enters the hot market of exchange-traded funds, the challenge already has proved too much for some in a sector where scale is key.
The U.S. economy could well be headed for another downturn — and financial advisers should direct clients to move their money out of the domestic equities market and into long-range opportunities overseas and alternative-asset classes, two well-known investment managers said last week.
Research Affiliates chairman Rob Arnott puts the chances of a double-dip recession at better than 50%. His advice? Prepare clients 'to weather the storm'
Okay, large caps are boring. But top asset managers like Dennis Stattman and Jeremy Grantham see a 'once-in-a-lifetime' buying opportunity in these undervalued -- and dividend paying -- stocks.
Office closings. Job reductions. Cutting back on flowers at psychiatric hospitals. States are trying anything and everything to make sure they don't miss debt payments. And so far, they're succeeding.
Bob Doll is vice chairman and chief equity strategist for fundamental equities at BlackRock Inc.
Despite a tepid response from plan sponsors, asset management firms continue to develop and promote annuity-enhanced target date funds, insisting that demand for retirement income will spur interest.
The Charles Schwab Corp.'s effort to drum up business in its newly launched stable of exchange-traded funds by waiving commissions for its clients continues to draw intense interest from its competitors and advisers. At two separate conferences Wednesday, questions were raised about Schwab's ground-breaking decision with various levels of concern.
Dennis Stattman is a senior portfolio manager of the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund.
Watches, chocolate, cheese. Switzerland is famous for quality on all three, but perhaps more attention should also be paid to the many high-quality, blue-chip, large-cap companies which are based there, such as Novartis, Roche, and Nestle.
Financial market volatility has increased over the past several weeks amid growing investor concern over happenings in Europe, the prospect of increased financial market regulation in the United States and, more generally, worry that the economic recovery has hit a rough patch.
U.S. One plans to file for three additional funds: a global-fixed-income ETF; a balanced ETF and a series of portfolios that will mimic target date funds.
A growing number of quantitative equity managers are striving to match their computer models to changing market environments better as they fight to reverse the performance drought they've been in since the start of the financial crisis in mid-2007.
