By asset class, net inflows into ETF strategies totaled $56 billion in the quarter with the highest amounts invested in core strategies, commodities and bond funds, said Gary Shedlin, BlackRock's chief financial officer, during a conference call with analysts Wednesday.
ETF net inflows totaled $103.9 billion in the prior quarter.
Total institutional net inflows were $47.4 billion in the three months ended March 31 with active strategy net inflows at $16.4 billion and passive fund net inflows of $31 billion.
In the earnings report, BlackRock said the net inflows into active investment strategies unit was led by investments in the firm's LifePath target-date strategies and a strong demand for alternative investment strategies.
The firm's indexed asset inflows were buoyed by a total of $70 billion invested in index strategies by two of the firm's large institutional investors, Mr. Shedlin said during the earnings call. He did not identify the investors and a BlackRock spokesman contacted separately declined to comment.
Net inflows to institutional strategies totaled $47.4 billion in the latest quarter compared to $43.1 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31.
BlackRock's long-term investment strategies had net inflows of $113.7 billion in the first quarter compared to $168.6 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31.
The firm's cash management unit experienced net outflows of $27.1 billion for the quarter ended March 31, compared to net inflows of $43.9 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31.
BlackRock's advisory unit experienced net outflows in the quarter ended March 31 of $285 million and $728 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
BlackRock's AUM also was lowered by foreign-exchange moves which lost $53.3 billion in the first quarter while market performance reduced the total AUM by $473.7 billion, the earnings report showed.
Laurence D. "Larry" Fink, BlackRock's chairman and CEO, told analysts during the call that BlackRock has engaged with more than 4,000 of its clients in the past two months regarding geopolitical conditions, including the impact of the war in Ukraine, to help them manage their portfolios, noting "in times like this, investors turn to BlackRock" for advice and counsel, adding, "BlackRock plays offense when others may be pulling back."
Mr. Fink said one area among many where BlackRock sees investment opportunity is "the intersection between sustainability and infrastructure" and noted that BlackRock plans to launch three funds in this area. He did not provide a timetable for the launch and the BlackRock spokesman declined to comment by email.
Mr. Fink also predicted that higher energy prices likely will trigger an investment boom in this sector.
Spurred by more interest from clients, BlackRock is "also studying digital assets and their associated ecosystem, including crypto assets, stable coin, tokenization and permission blockchains where we see the potential to benefit our clients," Mr. Fink said on the analyst call.
He drew analysts' attention to an April 12 announcement about BlackRock's minority investment in Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of USD Coin, which had $50.7 billion in circulation, and BlackRock's new role as primary asset manager of the USDC's cash reserves.
BlackRock also participated in a $400 million funding round for Circle. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
BlackRock's revenue in the quarter ended March 31 was $4.7 billion, down 8% compared to the prior quarter and up 6.8% from the same quarter a year earlier.
Net income totaled $1.4 billion, up from $1.6 billion in the previous quarter.
