BlackRock, the World’s Biggest Money Manager, Expands Again
BlackRock, along with its chief competitor, Vanguard, has been at the forefront of the recent boom in passive investing, cashing in on
investor frustration with mutual funds, which charge higher fees and, of late, have not performed on par with stock market indexes.
Of the $96 billion in new money that BlackRock brought in during the third quarter, most of it, $52
billion, came into its exchange-traded funds business, which operates under the brand iShares.
BlackRock now oversees $1.6 trillion in E. T.F.s, by far the most in the industry, and its leadership has made it clear
that these types of investment funds represent the future for BlackRock.
Exchange-traded funds track all the broad stock and bond market indexes as well as a wide range of investment strategies,
some of which are designed to replicate the approaches of portfolio managers picking value or growth stocks.
The company said Wednesday that it had taken in $264 billion in new funds so far this
year, bringing its total assets under management to a staggering $5.9 trillion.
And the results this quarter reveal why: funds with active strategies took in $5.7 billion while passive offerings attracted $70 billion.
