April 12 (Reuters) – BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab reported record assets under management (AUM) of about $10.5 trillion in the first quarter and posted a 36% jump in profit on Friday as a rebound in global equity markets boosted its investment advisory and administration fees.
Global equity markets rallied in the first quarter as expectations grew that the world’s major central banks were done with monetary policy tightening and would pivot to rate cuts, resulting in a jump in AUM.
The company’s AUM jumped 15% in the first quarter from a year earlier, while investment advisory and administration fees, typically a percentage of AUM and BlackRock’s chief source of revenue, climbed nearly 8.8% to $3.63 billion.
Shares of the world’s largest asset manager were up 2.6% in premarket trading.
However, total net inflows fell to $57 billion from $110 billion a year earlier. Inflows continue to be soft as clients sit on the sidelines waiting for interest rate cuts to begin before dipping back into risky assets.
Analysts expect asset management industry flows to re-accelerate after interest rate cuts begin, as that would incentivize the movement of cash piles currently on the sidelines into risky assets.
Source: REUTER