Earnings per share growth was 21% from the same period last year, and the group increased its quarterly dividend by 15% to $1.93 per share.
The positive results were driven by the stability of BlackRock’s diversified platform, said Laurence D. Fink, chairman and CEO: “Our $26.7bn in long-term net inflows for the quarter reflect positive flows across all asset classes, client types and regions, and our focus on long-term strategic themes continued to resonate, as clients look to us for investment solutions.”
The firm has seen investor demand grow for non-traditional income solutions, as well as retail alternative offerings. The fixed income landscape is also undergoing significant change, driving both institutional and retail clients to re-examine their fixed income strategies, said Fink.
“We continue to witness a shift towards unconstrained fixed income and increased usage of liability driven investing as large pension plans take advantage of strong equity markets and improved funding ratios to immunise their portfolios. The depth and breadth of our solutions offering, coupled with strong relative fixed income investment performance, position us to gain market share as the landscape evolves.”
Fink added that while BlackRock is pleased with continued strong performance across its active fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives funds, the US active equity business, where it has appointed new managers, will take time to turn performance around and build long-term track records.
Equities represent 57% of the group’s total AUM, with 31% in fixed income, 9% in multi-asset and 3% in alternatives. In terms of client type, these assets are made up of 65% institutional money, 12% from retail investor and the remaining 23% via iShares vehicles. Index funds account for 42% of the assets, with 35% actively managed. The balance is in iShares funds.
