BlackRock is now a $12.5 trillion asset powerhouse, but the stock is dropping anyway
The world’s largest asset manager boosted its AUM again, but traders are dumping the stock after a major client withdrawal.
As the famous saying goes, everyone’s a genius in a bull market.
That, of course, includes your cousin who bought a load of bitcoin a decade ago, as well as the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, which now manages a staggering $12.5 trillion in customer assets as of the second quarter.
As the market shrugged off tariff-related uncertainty, the still strong US economy — as well as excitement over the future benefits of AI — helped to push the S&P 500 to record highs, with the index rising some 7% in the latest quarter. With stocks worth more, and the US dollar weakening, the custodian’s asset base swelled, too.
But despite hitting such a round-numbered milestone, BlackRock shares were down as much as 7% in early trading on Tuesday, as weaker-than-expected deposits into its investment products — a lackluster result that the group blamed on a single large institutional client withdrawing $52 billion worth — weighed on the stock.
Private plans
Though known for its public markets prowess and low-cost ETFs, the world’s largest asset manager has had its eye on expanding into private markets (perhaps because it’s hard to keep asset-gathering when you’re as big as BlackRock).
Of particular interest is the world of private credit, or loans not made by banks to private companies.
Despite previous endeavors from 2018 being labeled a “disaster” by some BlackRock employees, the company is once again diving into the space, buying up specialized platforms and data providers like Preqin and HPS Investment Partners with goals to attract $400 billion in the higher-margin world of private capital by 2030.
