The insane level of market volatility last last year took its toll on BlackRock.
The Wall Street giant said Wednesday its total assets under management fell 5% from a year ago in the fourth quarter, dipping below $6 trillion.
Average investors and large institutional firms pulled money from some of BlackRock’s (BLK) pricier funds. But BlackRock’s massive iShares ETF business is still booming in spite of the market volatility.
BlackRock said a record $81.4 billion flowed into its iShares funds during the fourth quarter — proof that investors still love inexpensive passive funds and don’t value stock picking advice as much as they used to.
CEO Larry Fink predicts that the bumpy ride on Wall Street may not be over yet either. He said during a conference call that “political, economic and social outlooks globally remain clouded and unclear” and added that investors remain concerned about trade tension with China, interest rates in the US, weak growth in Europe and the rise of populist politics.
In other words, buckle up.
