BlackRock Sees $114B in Net Flows Amid Market Turmoil

Investors continued to pour money into BlackRock Inc.’s funds in the first quarter, seemingly undeterred by falling stock prices, surging inflation and war in Europe.

Even as uncertainty mounted over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Federal Reserve’s response to fast-rising consumer prices, clients added a total of $114 billion to BlackRock’s long-term investment products in the three months through March, the New York-based firm said Wednesday in a statement.

Equity funds led the way, with a $76 billion haul, while bond funds saw $7.5 billion, despite fixed-income markets tensing as the Fed begins to raise interest rates to combat inflation at a four-decade high.

The inflows came even as investor confidence fell over the period. The S&P 500 ended the quarter down 5%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 9.1%.

“As the world continues to face geopolitical and economic uncertainty, our investments over the years to build BlackRock’s allweather platform position us well to advise our clients and help them pursue their long-term financial goals,” Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said in the statement.

BlackRock’s total assets under management slid to $9.57 trillion at the end of March after the firm crossed the $10 trillion mark at the end of last year. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $9.52, beating the $8.79 average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The company reported revenue of about $4.7 billion for the three months ended in March, slightly below analyst estimates of about $4.8 billion for the period.

The firm took in investor money across different products, including equities, fixed-income and alternatives. Cash-management products saw outflows of $27 billion in the quarter. Exchange-traded funds took in about $56.2 billion, down from $68.5 billion in the year-ago period.

Shares of asset managers and major banks have taken a hit this year along with global markets. BlackRock shares are down 22% this year through Tuesday, compared with a 7.7% decline for the S&P 500.

Here are some additional highlights from BlackRock’s first-quarter earnings release:

• Performance fees decreased $31 million from the year-ago period, which BlackRock attributed in part to lower revenue from its liquid alternatives business.

• Overall inflows to bond funds came despite institutions pulling a net $2.8 billion from active fixed income funds, one of the only subcategories where BlackRock experienced outflows.

• Institutions added $47 billion to BlackRock funds overall in the first quarter, a 71% increase over the year-ago period.

• Against a chaotic geopolitical backdrop, investors also put money to work internationally: BlackRock reported flows of $45 billion to the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. That compares to $41 billion in Asia-Pacific, and $28 billion in the Americas.

Silla Brush and Annie Massa report for Bloomberg News.

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