BlackRock’s AUM Surge to $11.5 Trillion by September-End

The US-headquartered BlackRock, one of the world’s preeminent asset management firms and a premier provider of investment management, on Friday reported $360 billion of year-to-date total net inflows reflecting its continued strength of broad-based platform, and surpass full year net inflows of 2022 and 2023.

Announcing financial results for the three and nine months ended 30 September 2024, the company recorded $221 billion of quarterly total net inflows, representing 8% annualised organic asset growth and were positive across client type, product type, active and index, and regions.

The company’s assets under management (AUM) increased to $11.5 trillion, up $2.4 trillion year-over-year, driven by $456 billion of net inflows and positive market movements.

The revenues also increased 15% year-over-year, driven by the positive impact of markets on average AUM, organic base fee growth, and higher performance fees while the operating income grew 23% year-over-year (26% as adjusted), the company said.

There has been 2% increase in diluted EPS y-o-y (5% as adjusted) also reflected a higher effective tax rate and $375 million of share repurchases in Q3 of 2024. The company has closed acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) on 1 October 2024, adding $116 billion of client AUM and $70 billion of fee-paying AUM.

Strategy Ambitious and Working

BlackRock’s Chairman and CEO Laurence D Fink said that the company’s strategy was ambitious, and working. The assets managed on behalf of our clients reached a new high, ending the third quarter at $11.5 trillion, having grown $2.4 trillion over the last twelve months.

In that time, clients have entrusted BlackRock with $456 billion of net inflows, including a record $221 billion in the third quarter. Third quarter organic base fee growth of 5% and technology services ACV growth of 15% are each at multi-year highs, he averred.

“We are effectively leveraging our technology, scale, and global footprint to deliver profitable growth. Quarterly revenue and operating income both set new records, up 15% and 26% year-over-year, respectively. Our 45.8% operating margin is up 350 basis points,” he explained.

According to him, through coordinated investments and initiatives, the company was evolving its private markets capabilities to best serve its clients. They were already seeing the power of BlackRock and GIP together as they were driving access to the enormous investment potential of infrastructure, especially to support AI innovation.

He said that they believed in the model portfolio solution they were building will democratise retail access to private markets. BlackRock’s planned acquisition of Preqin will enhance data and risk analytics needed to support growing private markets allocations.

“Our relentless focus on clients, growth mindset and willingness to evolve has generated a compounded annual total return of over 20% for our shareholders since our IPO 25 years ago, well in excess of broader markets. The opportunities ahead of us have never been greater, and we look forward to driving growth for our clients, shareholders and employees in the years to come,” he added.