BlackRock has seen “very strong” fund deposits this quarter as the firm makes progress integrating BGI, Laurence D. Fink, BlackRock CEO told investors.
“New business momentum is building,” Mr. Fink said Tuesday at the Barclays Capital Financial Services Conference in New York. He said investors added new money “across the board,” including to equities, bonds, cash funds and ETFs.
New deposits would mark a turnaround for BlackRock, which saw net withdrawals of $30.4 billion in the three months ended June as clients reassessed investments following the Dec. 1 takeover of BGI. The purchase made BlackRock the world’s biggest asset management firm, adding ETFs to its actively managed stock and bond funds.
The firm manages $3.15 trillion in assets — about 44% in stocks, 34% in bonds and the rest in money funds and alternative funds such as hedge funds and real estate.
Industrywide, investors are flocking to bonds and cash as uncertainty over the U.S. economic recovery increases, Mr. Fink said. Growth outside the U.S., especially in countries such as China, India and Brazil, has been impressive, he said.
“In the U.S., there is greater gloom, greater uncertainty,” Mr. Fink said. “The housing problem is going to persist for a number of years.”
