Black Rock has reported USD55 billion in long-term net inflows for the first three months of 2018 – USD57.3 billion and USD3.2 billion from clients in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, respectively, which were partially offset by net outflows of USD5.9 billion from clients in EMEA.
As at 31 March, 2018, BlackRock managed 63 per cent of its long-term AUM for clients in the Americas, 29 per cent for clients in EMEA and 8 per cent for clients in Asia-Pacific.
Retail long-term net inflows of USD16.7 billion reflected net inflows of USD8.7 billion in the United States and USD8.0 billion internationally. Fixed income net inflows of USD10.0 billion were diversified across the Company’s top-performing active platform, led by net inflows into unconstrained, emerging market and municipals categories. Equity net inflows of USD4.2 billion reflected inflows into index mutual funds and international active equities. Multi-asset net inflows of USD2.0 billion were largely due to inflows into the Multi-asset Income fund family.
iShares ETFs long-term net inflows of USD34.6 billion reflected strength in iShares Core ETFs. Equity net inflows of USD29.7 billion were driven by both US and international equity market exposures. Fixed income and commodity iShares generated USD3.2 billion and USD1.7 billion of net inflows, respectively.
Institutional active long-term net outflows of USD7.1 billion were driven by fixed income outflows of USD4.1 billion linked to profit-taking and cash repatriation planning, and multi-asset net outflows of USD4.1 billion resulting from a single redemption associated with client M&A activity. Alternatives net inflows of USD1.4 billion were led by inflows into hedge funds, private equity solutions and infrastructure offerings.
Institutional index long-term net inflows of USD10.4 billion included fixed income net inflows of USD17.5 billion, led by demand for liability-driven solutions, partially offset by equity net outflows of USD7.2 billion.
Cash management AUM increased 1 per cent from the prior quarter to USD454.8 billion.
“Paced by a strong January, long-term net inflows of USD55 billion, representing 5 per cent annualised organic base fee growth, were positive across active and index strategies,” says Laurence D Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock. “Momentum continued in technology and risk management, with 19 per cent year-over-year revenue growth, further highlighting the strength and diversity of our global platform.
“Investors experienced a spike in market volatility during the quarter, driven by concerns over global trade policies, a heightened focus on rates and inflation, and headlines in the technology sector. Institutional investors, in particular, reacted to these factors, by de-risking and re-balancing. At the same time, we also saw many corporate clients adapting to US tax reform by seeking liquidity to fund future capital investment or more aggressive share repurchases. As a result of these various crosscurrents, BlackRock experienced a significant number of both large inflows and large outflows from institutional clients in the first quarter. Total institutional net inflows were USD3 billion, but reflected active net outflows from multi-asset strategies, primarily related to the loss of a single client from M&A activity, and from active fixed income strategies, linked to profit-taking and cash repatriation planning.
