BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc.is an Americanmultinationalinvestment company. Founded in 1988, initially as anenterprise risk managementandfixed incomeinstitutionalasset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager,with US$11.5trillion inassets under managementas of 2024.HeadquarteredinNew York City, BlackRock has 70 offices in 30 countries, and clients in 100 countries.
BlackRock is the manager of theiSharesgroup ofexchange-traded funds, and along withThe Vanguard GroupandState Street, it is considered to be one of the Big Threeindex fundmanagers.ItsAladdinsoftware keeps track of investment portfolios for many major financial institutions and its BlackRock Solutions division provides financialrisk managementservices. As of 2023, BlackRock was ranked 229th on theFortune500list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.
BlackRock has sought to position itself as an industry leader inenvironmental, social, and governance(ESG) considerations in investments.The U.S. states of West Virginia,Florida,and Louisianahave divested money away from or refuse to do business with the firm because of its ESG policies. BlackRock has been criticized for investing in companies that are involved infossil fuels, thearms industry, thePeople's Liberation Armyandhuman rights violations in China. The company has also faced criticism for its close ties with theFederal Reserveduring theCOVID-19 pandemic.
BlackRock was founded in 1988 byLarry Fink,Robert S. Kapito,Susan Wagner, Barbara Novick, Ben Golub, Hugh Frater, Ralph Schlosstein, and Keith Andersonto provide institutional clients with asset management services from a risk management perspective.Fink, Kapito, Golub and Novick had worked together atFirst Boston, where Fink and his team were pioneers in themortgage-backed securitiesmarket in the United States.During Fink's tenure, he had lost $90 million as head of First Boston. That experience was the motivation to develop what he and the others considered to be excellent risk management and fiduciary practices. Initially, Fink sought funding (for initial operating capital) fromPeter PetersonofThe Blackstone Groupwho believed in Fink's vision of a firm devoted to risk management. Peterson called it Blackstone Financial Management.In exchange for a 50% stake in the bond business, Blackstone initially gave Fink and his team a $5 million credit line. Within months, the business had turned profitable, and by 1989 the group's assets had quadrupled to $2.7 billion. The percent of the stake owned by Blackstone also fell to 40%, compared to Fink's staff.
By 1992, Blackstone had a stake equating to about 36% of the company, andStephen A. Schwarzmanand Fink were considering selling shares to the public.The firm adopted the name BlackRock, and was managing $17 billion in assets by the end of the year. At the end of 1994, BlackRock was managing $53 billion.In 1994, Schwarzman and Fink had an internal dispute over methods of compensation and equity.Fink wanted to share equity with new hires, to lure talent from banks, unlike Schwarzman, who did not want to further lower Blackstone's stake.They agreed to part ways, and Schwarzman sold BlackRock, a decision he later called a "heroic mistake."In June 1994, Blackstone sold a mortgage-securities unit with $23 billion in assets toPNC Financial Servicesfor $240 million.The unit had traded mortgages and other fixed-income assets, and during the sales process the unit changed its name from Blackstone Financial Management to BlackRock Financial Management.Schwarzman remained with Blackstone, while Fink became chairman and CEO of BlackRock.
On October 1, 1999, BlackRock became a public company, selling shares at $14 each via aninitial public offeringon theNew York Stock Exchange.By the end of 1999, BlackRock was managing $165 billion in assets.BlackRock grew both organically and by acquisition. In 2000, under the direction ofCharles Hallac, BlackRock launched BlackRock Solutions, its analytics and risk management division. The division grew from theAladdin System, the enterprise investment system, Green Package, the Risk Reporting Service, PAG (portfolio analytics), and AnSer, the interactive analytics.
In August 2004, BlackRock made its first major acquisition, buying State Street Research & Management's holding company SSRM Holdings, Inc. fromMetLifefor $325 million in cash and $50 million in stock. The acquisition increased BlackRock's assets under management from $314 billion to $325 billion.The deal included the mutual-fund business State Street Research & Management in 2005.
BlackRock merged withMerrill Lynch's Investment Managers division (MLIM) in 2006,halving PNC's ownership and giving Merrill a 49.5% stake in the company.In October 2007, BlackRock acquired the fund-of-funds business of Quellos Capital Management.In April 2009, BlackRock acquired R3 Capital Management, LLC and management of its $1.5 billion fund.In May 2009, BlackRock Solutions was retained by theU.S. Treasury Departmentto analyze, unwind, and price thetoxic assetsthat were owned byBear Stearns,American International Group,Freddie Mac,Morgan Stanley, and other financial firms that were affected in the2007–2008 financial crisis.TheFederal Reserveallowed BlackRock to superintend the $130 billion-debt settlement ofBear StearnsandAmerican International Group.
In February 2010, to raise capital needed during the financial crisis,Barclayssold its Barclays Global Investors (BGI) unit, which included its exchange traded fund business,iShares, to BlackRock for US$13.5 billion and Barclays acquired a near-20% stake in BlackRock.On April 1, 2011, BlackRock was added as a component of theS&P 500stock market index.In 2013,Fortunelisted BlackRock on its annual list of the world's 50 Most Admired Companies.In 2014,BlackRock's $4 trillion under management made it the "world's biggest asset manager".At the end of 2014, theSovereign Wealth Fund Institutereported that 65% of Blackrock's assets under management were made up ofinstitutional investors.
By June 30, 2015, BlackRock had US$4.721 trillion of assets under management.On August 26, 2015, BlackRock entered into a definitive agreement to acquireFutureAdvisor,a digital wealth management provider with reported assets under management of $600 million.Under the deal, FutureAdvisor would operate as a business within BlackRock Solutions (BRS).BlackRock announced in November 2015 that they would wind down the BlackRock Global Ascent hedge fund after losses. The Global Ascent fund had been its only dedicated global macro fund, as BlackRock was "better known for its mutual funds and exchange traded funds." At the time, BlackRock managed $51 billion in hedge funds, with $20 billion of that in funds of hedge funds.
In March 2017, BlackRock, after a six-month review led byMark Wiseman, initiated a restructuring of its $8 billion actively-managed fund business, resulting in the departure of seven portfolio managers and a $25 million charge in the second quarter, replacing certain funds with quantitative investment strategies.By April 2017,iSharesbusiness accounted for $1.41 trillion, or 26%, of BlackRock's total assets under management, and 37% of BlackRock's base fee income.Also in April 2017, BlackRock backed the inclusion of mainland Chinese shares in MSCI's global index for the first time.
In January 2020,PNC Financial Servicessold its stake in BlackRock for $14.4 billion.In March 2020, theFederal Reservechose BlackRock to manage two corporate bond-buying programs in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.This also included the $500 billion Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (PMCCF) and the Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF), as well as purchase by theFederal Reserveof commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) guaranteed byGovernment National Mortgage Association,Fannie Mae, orFreddie Mac.In August 2020, BlackRock received approval from theChina Securities Regulatory Commissionto set up a mutual fund business in the country. This made BlackRock the first global asset manager to get consent from the Chinese government to start operations in the country.
In November 2021, Blackrock lowered its investment in India while increasing investment in China. The firm maintains a dedicated India Fund, through which it invests in Indian start-upsByju's,Paytm, andPine Labs.On December 28, 2022, it was announced that BlackRock andVolodymyr Zelenskyhad coordinated a role for the company in the reconstruction of Ukraine.This was after BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Zelensky met over a video conference in September, 2022.In April 2023, the company was hired to sell $114 billion in assets ofSignature BankandSilicon Valley Bankafter the2023 United States banking crisis.In June 2023, BlackRock filed an application with the United StatesSecurities and Exchange Commission(SEC) to launch a SpotBitcoinExchange-Traded Fund(ETF), and in November 2023 it filed another application for a SpotEthereumETF. The spot bitcoin ETF filing and 10 others were approved on January 10, 2024.On January 19, 2024, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) was the first spot bitcoin ETF to reach $1 billion in volume.
In July 2023, the company appointedAmin H. Nasserto its board.Nasser, the Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, will fill Blackrock's board vacancy left by Bader Alsaad in 2024.In August 2023, BlackRock signed an agreement with New Zealand to establish a NZ$2 billion investment fund for solar, wind,green hydrogen, battery storage, andEV chargingprojects as part of its goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2030.In January 2024, BlackRock announced that it would acquire the investment fundGlobal Infrastructure Partnersfor $12.5 billion.BlackRock agreed to pay $3 billion in cash and 12 million of its own shares as part of the deal to buy GIP. In March 2024, BlackRock launched their first tokenized fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) onEthereum, which represents investments inU.S. Treasury billsand repo agreements. The fund secured $245 million in assets in the first week.On July 15, 2024, BlackRock removed from circulation an advertisement filmed in 2022 that briefly featuredThomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman in theattempted assassination of Donald Trump.The firm expanded its headquarters at 50 Hudson Yards in mid-2024.
In 2020, the non-profitAmerican Economic Liberties Projectissued a report highlighting the fact that "the 'Big Three' asset management firms – BlackRock,VanguardandState Street– manage over $15 trillion in combined global assets under management, an amount equivalent to more than three-quarters of U.S. gross domestic product."The report called for structural reforms and better regulation of the financial markets. In 2021, BlackRock managed over $10 trillion in assets under management, about 40% of the GDP of the United States (nominal $25.347 trillion in 2022).
In March 2018,PNCwas BlackRock's largest shareholder with 25% of all shares, but announced in May 2020 that it intended to sell all shares worth $17 billion.Over 80% of BlackRock is owned by institutional investors. The 10 largest shareholders, as of June 30, 2024, are listed in the following table:
Due to its power and the sheer size and scope of its financial assets and activities, BlackRock has been called the world's largestshadow bankbyThe EconomistandBasler Zeitung.In 2020, U.S. RepresentativesKatie PorterandJesús "Chuy" Garcíaproposed a U.S. House bill aiming to restrain BlackRock and other shadow banks.On March 4, 2021, U.S. SenatorElizabeth Warrensuggested that BlackRock should be designated "too big to fail" and regulated accordingly.
BlackRock invests the funds of its clients (for example, the owners ofiSharesexchange-traded fundunits) in numerous publicly traded companies, some of which compete with each other.Because of the size of BlackRock's funds, the company is among the top shareholders of many companies. BlackRock states these shares are ultimately owned by the company's clients, not by BlackRock itself—a view shared by multiple independent academics—but acknowledges it can exercise shareholder votes on behalf of these clients, in many cases without client input.
BlackRock has been the subject ofconspiracy theories, including the conspiracy theory that BlackRock owns bothFox NewsandDominion Voting Systems, whichSnopesdescribed as "false" andPolitiFactdescribed as "mostly false".Some BlackRock conspiracy theories have incorporatedantisemitism, such as the conspiracy theory that Jewish people, including BlackRock founder Robert Kapito, are part of acabalresponsible forCOVID-19and a "COVIDagenda".
"Common ownership" is when competitors within a market are commonly owned. In other words, these competitors can have the same powerful shareholders if their shares trade publicly. Common ownership has the potential to cause harm because it reduces market competition, which can be bad for consumers and the economy. In response to a widely cited research paper that showed that common ownership raises prices,BlackRock issued a white paper calling the mechanism "vague and implausible". At the same time, the research’s findings was listed as a "risk" in BlackRock's annual report. Common ownership can also lead to higher pay for CEOs, even as competition between the firms is reduced.
In 2017, BlackRock expanded itsenvironmental, social and corporate governance(ESG) projects with new staff and products.BlackRock started drawing attention to environmental and diversity issues by means of official letters to CEOs and shareholder votes together withactivist investorsor investor networks such as theCarbon Disclosure Project, which in 2017 backed a shareholder resolution forExxonMobilto act onclimate change.In 2018, it askedRussell 1000companies to improvegender diversityon their board of directors if they had fewer than two women on them.
In August 2021, a former BlackRock executive who had served as the company's first global chief investment officer for sustainable investing, said he thought the firm's ESG investing was a "dangerous placebo that harms the public interest." The former executive said that financial institutions are motivated to engage in ESG investing because ESG products have higher fees, which in turn increase company profits.In October 2021,The Wall Street Journaleditorial board wrote that BlackRock was pushing theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commissionto adopt rules requiring private companies to publicly disclose their climate impact, the diversity of their boards of directors, and other metrics. The editorial board opined that "ESG mandates, which also carry substantial litigation and reputation risks, will cause many companies to shun public markets. This would hurt stock exchanges and asset managers, but most of all retail investors."
In January 2022, BlackRock founder and CEO Larry Fink defended the company's focus on ESG investing, pushing back "against accusations the asset manager was using its heft and influence to support apolitically correctorprogressiveagenda."Fink said the practice of ESG "is notwoke".BlackRock's emphasis on ESG has drawn criticism as "either bowing to anti-business interests" or being "merely marketing".In a talk at theAspen Ideas Festivalin June 2023, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he has stopped using the term "ESG" because the term has been "weaponized". According to anAxiosreporter, Fink said, "I'm ashamed of being part of this conversation." Later, according toAxios, Fink said, "I never said I was ashamed. I'm not ashamed. I do believe in conscientious capitalism."
In July 2023, BlackRock announced that it would allow retail investors aproxy votein its biggest ETF from 2024. The move was initiated in the context of claims from US Republicans that BlackRock is systematically trying to push a 'woke agenda' through its pro-ESG activities. Under the plan, investors in BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF will be asked to make choices from seven different general policies ranging from voting generally with BlackRock's management, to environmental, social and governance factors or prioritizing Catholic values. Investors will not be able to vote on specific companies.TheEditorial Board atThe Wall Street Journalargued that it amounted to a "false voting choice" since almost all of the pre-selected voting policies are devised by the ESG-aligned proxy advisoriesGlass LewisandInstitutional Shareholder Services.
As of December 2018, BlackRock was the world's largest investor incoal-fired power stations, holding shares worth $11 billion in 56 companies in the industry.BlackRock owned more oil, gas, and thermal coal reserves than any other investment management company with total reserves amounting to 9.5 gigatonnes of CO2emissions or 30% of total energy-related emissions from 2017.Environmental groups including theSierra Club,as well asAmazon Watch,launched a campaign in September 2018 called "BlackRock's Big Problem",claiming that BlackRock is the "biggest driver of climate destruction on the planet", in part due to its opposition tofossil fuel divestment.
In 2019, climate activists carried out street theatre and glued themselves to the door of the company's London offices.On January 10, 2020, a group of climate activists rushed inside the Paris offices of BlackRock France, painting walls and floors with warnings and accusations on the responsibility of the company in theeffects of global warming.In May 2019, BlackRock was criticized for the environmental impact of its holdings as it was a major shareholder in every oilsupermajorexceptTotal S.A.and in 7 of the 10 biggest coal producers.
On January 14, 2020, the company shifted its investment policy; BlackRock CEOLarry Finksaid that environmentalsustainabilitywould be a key goal for investment decisions.BlackRock announced that it would sell $500 million worth of coal-related assets, and created funds that would not invest in companies profiting fromfossil fuels.Nonetheless, BlackRock's support for shareholder resolutions requestingclimate riskdisclosure fell from 25% in 2019 to 14% in 2020.BlackRock has also been criticized regardingclimate changeinaction anddeforestationin theAmazon rainforest.According toThe New Republic, BlackRock "has positioned itself as the good guy onWall Street, and its executives as a crew of mild-mannered money managers who understand the risks of the climate crisis and the importance of diversity. But those commitments, critics say, only extend so far into the firm's day-to-day operations."According toIESE, BlackRock has indeed influenced polluting companies to lower their carbon emissions. The study showed that companies who met with BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink had lower CO2 emissions the following year.Another study showed that Blackrock has mislabelled some investment funds, having only 9% out of 82 funds labelled as sustainable which did not invest in fossil fuel companies.
In May 2018, anti-gun protesters held a demonstration outside the company'sannual general meetingin Manhattan.After discussions with firearms manufacturers and distributors, on April 5, 2018, BlackRock introduced two newexchange-traded funds(ETFs) that exclude stocks of gun makers and large gun retailers such asWalmart,Dick's Sporting Goods,Kroger,Sturm Ruger,American Outdoor Brands, andVista Outdoor, and removed the stocks from seven existing ESG funds.
TheEuropean Ombudsmanopened an inquiry in May 2020 to inspect the commission's file on theEuropean Commission's decision to award a contract to BlackRock to carry out a study on integrating environmental, social and governance risks and objectives into EU banking rules ('the prudential framework').European Parliamentmembers questioned the impartiality of BlackRock given its investments in the sector.
Riley Moore, thestate treasurerof West Virginia, said in June 2022 that BlackRock and five other financial institutions would no longer be allowed to do business with the state of West Virginia because of the company's advocacy against the fossil fuel industry.In October 2022, Louisiana removed $794 million from BlackRock due to the company's support of ESG and green energy.In December 2022,Jimmy Patronis, the chief financial officer of Florida, announced that thegovernment of Floridawould be divesting $2 billion worth of investments under management by BlackRock due to the firm's move to strengthen ESG standards and ESG policies.BlackRock later responded to the announcement with a statement stating that the divestment would place politics over investor interest.
In August 2021, BlackRock set up its first mutual fund in China after raising over one billion dollars from 111,000 Chinese investors. BlackRock became the first foreign-owned company allowed by the Chinese government to operate a wholly-owned business in China's mutual fund industry.Writing inThe Wall Street Journal,George Sorosdescribed BlackRock's initiative in China as a "tragic mistake" that would "damage the national security interests of the U.S. and other democracies."
In October 2021,conservativenon-profit groupConsumers' Researchlaunched an ad campaign criticizing BlackRock's relationship with the Chinese government in response to BlackRock's climate change activism,as part of Consumers' Research's campaign against perceived "wokeness" in American corporations.In December 2021, it was reported that BlackRock was an investor in two companies that had been blacklisted by the US government accusing China ofhuman rights abusesagainst theUyghursin Xinjiang. In one case (Hikvision) BlackRock increased its level of investment after the company's blacklisting.In August 2023, theUS House of Representatives' Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Partyinitiated an investigation into the firm's investments in Chinese companies accused of violating human rights and aiding thePeople's Liberation Army.The committee concluded that BlackRock channeled $1.9 billion into blacklisted entities in 2023.
In February 2025, a group of 17 U.S. state attorneys general criticized BlackRock for making improper or inadequate disclosures about investments in China.
BlackRock was scrutinized for allegedly taking advantage of its close ties with theFederal Reserveduring the COVID-19 pandemic response efforts.In June 2020,The New Republicwrote that BlackRock "was having a very good pandemic" and was casting "itself as socially responsible while contributing to the climate catastrophe, evading regulatory scrutiny, and angling to influence [a potential]Biden administration."TheFinancial Timesdescribed BlackRock as having secured a prominent advisory role in the Fed's post-COVIDasset purchase program, prompting concerns over whether BlackRock would use its influence to encourage the Fed to purchase BlackRock products; during the Fed's 2020 quantitative easing program, BlackRock's corporate bond ETF received $4.3 billion in new investment, compared to the respective $33 million and $15 million received by BlackRock's competitorsVanguard GroupandState Street.On May 26, 2020, the contract was released publicly.The New York Timeswrote about the contract that BlackRock "will earn no more than $7.75 million per year for the main bond portfolio it will manage. It will also be prohibited from earning fees on the sale of bond-backed exchange traded funds, a segment of the market it dominates."
As of 2024, BlackRock operates the world's largest bitcoin fund.
Pyramid Analytics, anAIand analytics company, has secured a strategic $50 million investment from BlackRock, strengthening its position in the enterprise AI and data analytics market to support further technological development and global expansion.
As of 2024, Blackrock has a 17-person board of directors, including:
People who have previously served on the Blackrock board of directors include: