BlackRock’s assets under management rose 10% in the year ending in September 30, leaving the world’s largest money manager with more than $4.5 trillion (€3.5 trillion) of assets under managment.
The gain was aided by inflows in the third quarter of $28.7 billion into the firm’s long-term funds. Notably, the net gain from investors in the Asia Pacific region in the quarter, $10.5 billion, was almost as much as BlackRock gained from investors in the Americas, its core market which accounts for 61% of its long-term assets under management. Investors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa accounted for $7.4 billion of the long-term net inflow in the quarter.
The positive results masked a mixed picture in terms of investor appetite. Retail investors accounted for $4.9 billion of the long-term net inflow in the quarter, a result that was achieved despite a net $3.4 billion flowing out of equity funds during the three-month period. The firm attributed the outflow to investors withdrawing from European equities. Fixed income, in contrast, attracted good inflows during the period.
“The commitment we made six years ago to rebuild our fixed income business is now showing results,” says chairman and chief executive, Laurence D Fink, who commented on the results in a statement.
iShares, the firm’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) division, took in a net $18.2 billion during the quarter, seeming to underline an increasing investor demand for passive investment products.
©2014 funds europe
