BlackRock, the world’s leading asset manager, reported a 21% surge in fourth-quarter profit, bolstered by robust equity markets that drove income from fees and pushed its assets under management to an unprecedented $11.55 trillion, representing a 15% increase. The New York-based firm’s assets swelled from $10.01 trillion last year and rose from $11.48 trillion in the preceding quarter.
The U.S. stock market rally following Donald Trump’s presidential win further fueled BlackRock’s growth, as investors anticipated lower corporate taxes and deregulation. This environment helped BlackRock cap off a successful year, marked by strategic investments in the burgeoning private markets, including a $25 billion expenditure on Global Infrastructure Partners and HPS Investment Partners.
Despite the typical client hesitation during mergers and acquisitions, BlackRock saw clients embrace its strategy aggressively, CEO Larry Fink remarked. The asset manager’s net income soared to $1.67 billion, or $10.63 per share, in the fourth quarter, up from $1.38 billion, or $9.15 per share, in the comparable period last year.
BlackRock accumulated $201 billion in long-term net inflows in Q4, contributing to total inflows of $281.4 billion, a significant increase from $95.6 billion the year prior. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) captured the majority of these inflows at $142.6 billion, with fixed-income products also seeing substantial client investments of $23.8 billion.