BlackRock assets under management reach record $10.6trn

BlackRock announced a robust set of second-quarter results on Monday, as its total assets under management reached a fresh record amid growth across its platform.

For the three months ended 30 June, BlackRock reported diluted earnings per share of $9.99, or $10.36 as adjusted.

The company achieved $82 billion in quarterly net inflows, contributing to a total of $139 billion in net inflows for the first half of the year.

That was reportedly driven by record performance in its exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and solid inflows across various product types.

BlackRock's assets under management (AUM) reached $10.6trn, a year-on-year increase of $1.2trn and a new record level.

That growth was fuelled by consistent organic growth and favourable market movements.

Revenue increased 8% year-on-year, primarily due to the positive impact of markets on average assets under management, organic base fee growth, and higher performance fees and technology services revenue.

Operating income saw an 11% increase on the year, or 12% on an adjusted basis, while diluted earnings per share rose 10%, or 12% as adjusted.

The company also repurchased $500m worth of shares in the current quarter, underscoring its commitment to delivering value to shareholders.

Chairman and chief executive officer Laurence Fink highlighted the firm’s execution on a broad range of opportunities, including private markets, Aladdin, and whole portfolio solutions across ETFs and active management.

“At the same time, we are opening up meaningful new growth markets for our clients and shareholders with our planned acquisitions of Global Infrastructure Partners and Preqin,” Fink added.

“BlackRock has long standing relationships with corporates and governments around the world as a long-term investor in public equity and debt.

“We have strong sourcing capabilities, and we are transforming our private markets platform to bring even more benefits of scale and technology to our clients.”

Fink said BlackRock was on track to close its planned acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners in the third quarter, which was expected to double private markets base fees and add around $100bn of infrastructure assets under management.

“And just a few weeks ago, we announced our agreement to acquire Preqin, a leading private markets data provider.”

At 0737 EDT (1237 BST), shares in BlackRock were up 1.03% in pre-market trading in New York, at $836.50.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.