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.
Make way for the 1,600-pound gorilla in the money management industry.
Barclays Global Investors North Asia Ltd. announced today that iShares, the firm’s exchange traded fund unit, has expanded its Asia management team.
BlackRock Inc. confirmed this morning that it's in talks with Barclays PLC to acquire the London-based company's $1 trillion money management unit, Barclays Global Investors.
BlackRock is likely to announce an agreement to buy Barclays Global Investors from Barclays, creating the world’s biggest institutional money manager, according to sources who declined to be named.
Signaling greater stability in the credit markets, most of the major fund complexes offering Treasury money market mutial funds have discontinued their participation in the federal guarantee program on those funds.
The market's recent rally is likely to be short-lived.
Insurers are rolling out adjustments to their variable annuity products — this time with an air of caution.
These are difficult times for the mutual fund industry, which makes consideration of publicly traded fund companies as investments particularly nerve-racking.
Mutual fund groups groups must adjust to a new, potentially expensive distribution landscape, according to members of a round-table panel of fund executives, financial advisers and industry experts.
Some providers of exchange traded funds hold out hope that the government will still turn to ETFs to purchase toxic assets — illiquid real estate loans and securities backed by loan portfolios — from banks.
Publicly traded asset management companies tend to lead market recoveries, but the fast and brutal decline in mutual fund assets makes the firms' ability to front a recovery doubtful.
The New-York based investment firm blamed the drop, in large part, to incurring $215 million in losses from investments in hedge funds and real estate products.
The U.S. equity market is likely to see a double-digit gain this year, while the economy shrinks by 2%, said .Robert C. Doll, vice chairman and chief equity investment officer of New York-based BlackRock Inc.
A select group of mutual funds that can invest beyond stocks, bonds and cash are being heralded as the next great innovation, but some industry observers question whether the funds are merely repackaging an existing concept.
A panel that is charged with recommending changes to the ways money market mutual funds operate is being met with skepticism by money fund experts who worry that changes might be unnecessary.
