BlackRock AUM hits record $9 trillion in first quarter

Updated with a correction.

BlackRock’s assets under management hit a new high — $9.01 trillion — in the quarter ended March 31.
Data from BlackRock’s earnings report Thursday showed that AUM run by the world’s largest money manager rose 3.8% compared with the prior quarter.

The firm not only recovered from a 12.9% decline in AUM to $6.47 trillion in the first quarter of 2020, caused by the early impact of the outbreak of the COVID-19 on markets, assets rose 39.3% for the year ended March 31, 2021.

During Thursday’s earnings call with analysts, Gary S. Shedlin, senior managing director and chief financial officer, attributed a good portion of the firm’s growth in the first quarter to total net inflows of $171.6 billion in the first quarter, a new high for a three-month period and the fourth quarter in a row of net inflows of more than $100 billion.

In contrast, the firm’s net inflows in the quarter ended Dec. 31 totaled $126.9 billion and $35 billion in the first quarter 2020.

Laurence D. “Larry” Fink, chairman and CEO, told analysts on the call that the firm had “a very strong first quarter,” noting that net inflows for the three-month period were “very diverse” coming from many strategies.

The breakdown in BlackRock’s net inflows in the quarter ended March 31 were led by iShares, $68.5 billion, (prior quarter, $78.8 billion); cash management, $39.2 billion ($8.9 billion); retail investors, a new record high of $36.5 billion ($35.3 billion); institutional, $27.6 billion ($2.1 billion, the result of client reallocations from equities).

Advisory had net outflows of $187 million for the quarter, compared with net inflows of $1.8 billion for the prior quarter.

In response to an analyst's question on the earnings call about BlackRock’s institutional client base, Mr. Fink said conversations with investors in the quarter focused on the potential impact of inflation on portfolios, the usefulness of low-duration bond and unconstrained strategies, equity valuations, demand for high-yield bonds and other strategies.

But by far and away, Mr. Fink said the most common subject BlackRock’s institutional clients want to talk about is sustainable investments.

He said clients want to know how their portfolios can add to the transition to clean energy and net-zero economy.

Mr. Fink told analysts that “there are incredible pools of cash on the sidelines. Many investors still are underinvested.”

Regarding profitability, BlackRock’s net revenue in the quarter ended March 31 was $4.4 billion, down 1.8% from the prior quarter and up 18.5% from the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $1.2 billion in the quarter ended March 31, down 22.5% compared with the previous quarter and up 48.8% from the first quarter 2020.