Blackrock: Investors' Choice

BlackRock is a global investment management company that offers investment, advisory, and risk management solutions. The company has a market capitalization of nearly $112.85 billion as of April 18, 2024, and is one of the world's largest investment management companies by assets under management (AUM). BlackRock helps millions of people invest and save for retirement, providing a range of investment options, including mutual funds, retirement income, college savings, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The company has a wide reach, with offices in 30 countries and clients in 100 countries. While the exact number of people who invest with BlackRock is not publicly available, the company's global presence and broad range of investment services suggest that it serves a significant number of investors worldwide.

BlackRock's investment advisory and administration fees

As of 2024, BlackRock is a global investment management company with a market capitalization of $112.85 billion. The company operates as a single business segment, deriving most of its revenue from investment advisory and administration fees. In the 2023 fiscal year, this category accounted for $14.4 billion, or about 81% of total revenue.

BlackRock's revenue is generated from five segments: "Investment advisory, administration fees, and securities lending revenue," "Investment advisory performance fees," "Technology services revenue," "Distribution fees," and "Advisory and other revenue."

The firm's investment advisory and administration fees are based on percentages of assets under management (AUM). As of December 31, 2023, BlackRock had $10 trillion in AUM, making it the world's largest asset manager.

BlackRock provides investment and technology services to institutional and retail clients, including mutual funds, investments focused on retirement income and college savings, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The company is a fiduciary to its clients, investing on their behalf to help them achieve financial well-being.

BlackRock has a global presence with 70 offices in 30 countries and clients in 100 countries. It is considered one of the "Big Three" index fund managers, alongside The Vanguard Group and State Street.

BlackRock's investment advisory performance fees

As of December 31, 2023, BlackRock, Inc. is the world's largest asset manager, with US$10 trillion in assets under management. The company has 78 offices in 38 countries and clients in 100 countries.

In terms of the number of people who invest with BlackRock, the company helps more than 35 million Americans invest for retirement. Additionally, more than 190,000 financial advisors in the U.S. choose BlackRock to help build client portfolios.

BlackRock's purpose is to help people experience financial well-being. The company achieves this by making investing easier and more affordable, acting as a fiduciary to investors, and providing financial technology solutions.

BlackRock's technology services

BlackRock is a multinational investment management company that provides financial technology solutions to its clients. The company's Aladdin software is a technology platform that unifies the investment management process, offering a common data language that enables scale, provides insights, and supports business transformation.

Aladdin is designed for institutional, wholesale, qualified, and professional investors and is not intended for end investors. The platform covers alternative investment data management through eFront technology, meeting the needs of alternative investment professionals worldwide and across all major alternative asset classes.

Aladdin brings together public and private asset class data, creating a whole portfolio solution for investment professionals globally. The platform is offered as a service, and the Aladdin team is responsible for maintaining and monitoring the technical environment for all clients, providing significant leverage to technology teams.

As a user and provider of Aladdin technology, BlackRock continuously invests in research and development, benefiting from a rigorous release schedule. The platform is built by and for market practitioners, ensuring that organizations can keep up with the continuous pace of change.

Aladdin helps simplify complex systems environments that often result from interfacing multiple asset class or region-specific solutions. It enables the retirement of several point solutions, saving time and simplifying vendor management. The platform is designed to adapt to changes in industry standards and market practices, with all clients receiving access to new functionality.

In partnership with Microsoft, BlackRock has evolved the Aladdin platform by hosting its infrastructure on the Microsoft Azure cloud. This collaboration ensures that BlackRock remains at the forefront of financial technology, providing a stable and performant platform that gains new capabilities through AI, blockchain, quantum, and cloud.

BlackRock's distribution fees

BlackRock is a leading global investment management company, with over $10 trillion in assets under management as of December 2023. The company offers a range of investment funds, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and institutional investment products.

• BlackRock Flexible Equity Fund: This fund has a distribution fee of 0.75% for Investor C Shares and 0.25% for Class R Shares. These fees are paid annually and are in addition to any sales charges.
• BlackRock Funds: The fund has a distribution fee of 0.75% for Investor C Shares and 0.25% for Class R Shares. These fees are part of the fund's 12b-1 plan, which allows the fund to pay for distribution and marketing expenses.
• BlackRock Solutions: This division of BlackRock provides risk management and advisory services and charges distribution and service fees for its products. The fees vary depending on the specific product and client.
• IShares ETFs: iShares, BlackRock's ETF business, offers a wide range of ETFs with varying distribution fees. For example, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has a distribution fee of 0.04%.

It is important to note that distribution fees are only one component of the overall fees charged by BlackRock. Other fees may include sales charges, management fees, and service fees. It is essential to carefully review the prospectus and fee schedule of a particular BlackRock fund before investing.

BlackRock's advisory and other revenue

BlackRock is a global investment management company that provides investment and technology services to institutional and retail clients. The company operates as a single business segment, deriving most of its revenue from investment advisory and administration fees. In FY 2023, BlackRock generated $17.86 billion in revenue, of which Advisory and Other Revenue accounted for $159 million or about 1%. This segment involves providing advisory services to global financial institutions, regulators, and governments.

BlackRock's advisory services are delivered through its Financial Markets Advisory (FMA) team, which leverages the company's capital markets, data, risk analytics, technology, and financial modelling capabilities. The FMA team advises financial institutions, regulators, and government entities on critical and complex financial issues, with a focus on balance sheet and capital market exposures, as well as strategic, regulatory, and operational challenges. The team comprises professionals with substantial practitioner experience in banking, financial regulation, and consulting.

BlackRock's advisory services are enhanced by its analytical infrastructure, including the Aladdin® platform, which enables the company to deliver outcome-oriented advice. The company's advisory services are designed to support clients in various geographies and time zones, ensuring a global reach and responsiveness to urgent needs.

Since its establishment in 2008, BlackRock's Financial Markets Advisory practice has served over 280 unique clients in more than 35 countries, demonstrating its global presence and expertise in addressing financial institutions' strategic and operational needs.

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