BlackRock Assets Hit Record $10.5 Trillion As Markets Surge

Assets at BlackRock hit a record $10.5 trillion in the first quarter, and the firm posted a 36% jump in profit as rising global equity markets boosted its investment advisory and administration fees, according to Arasu Kannagi Basil and Davide Barbuscia's report for Reuters.

BlackRock's AUM surged 15% in the first quarter from a year earlier, while investment advisory and administration fees climbed nearly 8.8% to $3.63 billion. I Photo: New York Stock Exchange Facebook

Global stock markets rallied in the first quarter on expectations that the world's major central banks were done with monetary policy tightening and would pivot to cutting interest rates, helping boost BlackRock’s assets under management (AUM).

The MSCI's gauge of global stock performance rose 7.7% in the first three months of the year, while the S&P 500 jumped 10%.

BlackRock's AUM surged 15% in the first quarter from a year earlier, while investment advisory and administration fees, typically a percentage of AUM and the company's chief source of revenue, climbed nearly 8.8% to $3.63 billion.

“I see the greatest opportunities I've ever seen for BlackRock, for our clients, and for our shareholders," Larry Fink, the company's chairman and CEO, said during a conference call to discuss the results.