BlackRock’s Assets Reach $11.6 Trillion. Who Will Succeed Larry Fink?

BlackRock recorded a profit jump of 21 percent in the fourth quarter after stock markets increased fee income and brought its assets to a record $11.6 trillion, the world’s largest money manager announced on Wednesday.

The assets managed by the New York-based company rose to $11.55 trillion from $10.01 trillion a year earlier and $11.48 trillion in the third quarter, Reuters reported.

The growth was partially driven by a recovery in the U.S. stock market after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election in November encouraged investors to bet on lower corporate taxes and deregulation.

BlackRock’s quarterly results showed a successful year for the asset manager, which sought to strengthen its position in rapidly growing private markets. Last year, it spent about $25 billion on the infrastructure investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners and private credit business HPS Investment Partners.

– For many companies, periods of mergers and acquisitions contribute to a pause in client engagement. At BlackRock, clients instead embrace and reward our strategy – said CEO Larry Fink in a statement on Wednesday.

Net income rose to $1.67 billion, or $10.63 per share, in the three months ending December 31, up from $1.38 billion, or $9.15 per share, a year earlier. BlackRock recorded $201 billion in long-term net inflows in the fourth quarter. Total net inflows reached $281.4 billion, compared to $95.6 billion a year ago.

Most of the long-term inflows came from exchange-traded funds (ETFs), amounting to $142.6 billion. Clients invested $23.8 billion in BlackRock’s fixed-income products.

The U.S. Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index showed that core inflation pressures eased in December.

The benchmark S&P 500 index gained 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter and finished the year with a 23.3 percent increase, marking the second consecutive year of gains above 20 percent.

– A strong influx of assets in this quarter contributed to a record year for BLK – said Kyle Sanders, senior equity research analyst at Edward Jones.

This, he said,’should boost investor confidence that the long-awaited great rotation, where investors move off the sidelines and begin to ‘risk again’ by investing in equities and fixed-income products, is starting to materialize.’ The company’s shares rose nearly four percent to $1,000 in early trading on Wednesday.

Who will succeed Fink?

BlackRock entered into a $3.2 billion agreement in June to acquire the British data provider Preqin, which aims to offer indices for private markets. Initially, BlackRock anticipated finalizing the deal with Preqin by the end of 2024, but the British competition regulator launched an investigation into the transaction last month and set February 12 as the deadline for a decision on the first part of that review.

BlackRock’s Chief Financial Officer Martin Small said on Wednesday that he now expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2025, while the agreement with HPS is expected to be realized in the first half of the year.

BlackRock’s acquisition in private markets may not be over yet, and the asset manager is expected to opportunistically continue expanding into private credit, real estate, infrastructure, or perhaps private equity, Reuters reported.

However, in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Fink said it is unlikely that BlackRock will buy 100 percent stakes in companies.

Separately, confirming earlier reports, Fink also said on Wednesday that BlackRock’s senior executive Mark Wiedman, who had previously been touted as a potential successor to Fink, is leaving. Fink added that many leaders are taking on new, expanded roles.

Wiedman said in an email that he will remain with the company for the next few months and then work out his next move.

Another executive, Salim Ramji, left BlackRock in January 2024 to become CEO of the asset management firm Vanguard Group. Ramji had also once been advertised as a potential successor to Fink, who is 72 years old and recently ‘completed’ his 100th earnings report for the company.

– I can’t say I feel older – he said.

BlackRock is not the only Wall Street giant that sparked new succession drama on Tuesday.

JPMorgan Chase promoted Jennifer Piepszak to Chief Operating Officer as part of new leadership on Tuesday, but the largest national bank said that Piepszak does not want to succeed Jamie Dimon as CEO.

This adds new uncertainty to the race for the successor to 68-year-old Dimon, the longest-serving CEO of a major bank and the only one who managed during the 2008 financial crisis.