BlackRock hits record US$12.5 trillion in assets amid tariff chaos

[NEW YORK] BlackRock pulled in US$46 billion to its investment funds, and assets hit a record US$12.5 trillion as clients rode out the volatility of US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies in the second quarter.

Investors added US$85 billion to exchange-traded funds and US$29 billion to equities overall, New York-based BlackRock said in a statement on Tuesday (Jul 15). Net flows into long-term investments missed the US$61 billion average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, as a single institutional client redeemed US$52 billion from a lower-fee index product.

“Our expanding client relationships are resonating in higher, more diversified organic base fee growth,” chief executive officer Larry Fink said in the statement.

Overall net flows into the company’s funds were US$68 billion, including US$22 billion to cash-management and money-market funds and US$14 billion into digital-asset ETFs.

At the start of the second quarter, Trump’s announcement of unexpectedly stringent tariffs sent global stock markets plunging and led to convulsions in bond markets – at one point rivalling the volatility of the 2008 financial crisis and onset of the pandemic in 2020. About a week later, the president issued a 90-day pause on tariffs for dozens of trading partners.

After the anxiety subsided, investors added to stocks and bonds as the S&P 500 and global indexes quickly recovered. The market upheaval showed signs of weighing on certain investors. BlackRock said its long-term net inflows from retail clients during the period totalled US$2 billion, the lowest since those investors pulled money during the last three months of 2023.

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BlackRock also added US$9.8 billion in alternative investments in the period. Known for years primarily for its low-fee stock and bond funds, the world’s largest asset manager continues to push into private markets and compete with the likes of Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and KKR to reach institutional and, increasingly, retail investors.

In his latest annual letter to investors, Fink said the firm is no longer a “traditional asset manager” and pledged to bring private assets to the masses.

Just after the quarter ended, BlackRock completed its US$12 billion acquisition of private-credit shop HPS Investment Partners, its third major purchase in about 18 months. The deal added US$165 billion of client assets and US$118 billion of fee-paying assets.

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As part of that US$28 billion buying spree, BlackRock also struck deals to buy Global Infrastructure Partners and private-markets data firm Preqin. The firm surpassed the fundraising target for GIP’s fifth flagship, raising US$25.2 billion, BlackRock said in the statement.

With the acquisitions, BlackRock will manage more than US$600 billion of alternative investments, and the company has set a goal to raise another US$400 billion in private assets by 2030.

BlackRock’s adjusted earnings per share in the quarter 16 per cent from a year ago to US$12.05. That beat the average analyst estimate of US$10.87. Revenue rose 13 per cent to US$5.4 billion from a year ago, reflecting higher fees tied to GIP and the positive effect of markets.

Shares of BlackRock rose 8.4 per cent through Monday, beating the 6.6 per cent increase of the S&P 500. BLOOMBERG