BlackRock had $6.515 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, up 9% from three months earlier and 3.1% higher than a year earlier, the firm said Tuesday in its earnings statement.
Long-term net inflows were $59 billion in the first quarter, compared to $43.6 billion in the previous quarter and $54.6 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Equity strategies saw net outflows of $26.1 billion, while multiasset net outflows were $1.7 billion. Fixed-income net inflows totaled $79.9 billion and alternatives saw $6.8 billion in net inflows.
Separately, Blackrock reported $5.7 billion in net inflows into cash management strategies, bringing its total net inflows to $64.7 billion for the three months ended March 31.
BlackRock's institutional business saw long-term net inflows of $29.1 billion, boosted by $15.4 billion into active strategies and $13.7 billion into passive strategies. In the fourth quarter, total net institutional outflows totaled $34.6 billion, while the first quarter of 2018 saw net institutional inflows of $3.3 billion. Institutional long-term net outflows totaled $37.5 billion for the past 12 months ended March 31.
Institutional net inflows in the latest quarter were driven by momentum in fixed income, reflecting continued demand for liability-driven investing solutions and BlackRock's top-performing active strategies, said Gary S. Shedlin, BlackRock's chief financial officer, during an earnings call Tuesday with analysts.
BlackRock's institutional business AUM was $3.49 trillion as of March 31, remaining flat from a year earlier and up 9.6% from the end of the previous quarter.
BlackRock's iShares exchange-traded fund business saw net inflows of $30.7 billion in the first quarter vs. net inflows of $81.4 billion in the previous quarter and $34.7 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Meanwhile, assets managed in iShares increased 11.2% compared to three months earlier to $1.9 trillion and were up 8.9% from March 31, 2018.
BlackRock's global retail business saw long-term net outflows of $813 million in the latest quarter, compared to net outflows of $3.2 billion in the fourth quarter and net inflows of $16.7 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
The firm's revenue was $3.35 billion, down 2.6% from the fourth quarter and down 6.6% from the first quarter of 2018. Net income was $1.05 billion, up 14.3% from the previous quarter and down 3.1% compared to the year-earlier quarter.
"BlackRock's broad investment platform generated $65 billion of total net inflows in the first quarter, representing 4% organic growth. The breadth of our investment capabilities, spanning index, alpha-seeking, alternatives and cash, coupled with our industry-leading technology and portfolio construction capabilities, allowed us to generate strong flows and continue to meet the evolving needs of our global clients," said Laurence D. Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, in an earnings statement.
