BlackRock Continues Momentum but Pulls Ad With Trump Gunman

According to its official website, “BlackRock is one of the world’s leading providers of investment, advisory and risk management solutions. We are a fiduciary to our clients. We’re investing for the future on behalf of our clients, inspiring our employees, and supporting our local communities.”

BlackRock’s ETF assets under management (AUM) reached $3.85 trillion in 2023, nearly doubling from five years earlier, solidifying its dominant position in the market. With total ETF AUM now exceeding $9 trillion, BlackRock leads the industry alongside Vanguard and State Street.

BlackRock’s ETF business is highly profitable, controlling a significant share of the over $9 trillion ETF market, with the top five providers holding about 85% of total assets. Despite the ongoing revenue growth, there is intense fee pressure in the industry, leading firms to constantly seek new ways of generating revenue streams.

To address this, BlackRock launched the LifePath Paycheck program to enter the annuities market, allowing participants to allocate assets for lifetime income starting at age 55. Additionally, BlackRock acquired Preqin for $3.2 billion to enhance its private equity data access, aiming to capitalize on private equity investments.

However, according to the CNBC report, “The investment is bigger than just data. The big hope — that somehow an ETF of private equity investments could be created — remains, for the moment, a pipe dream, for the simple reason that buying the underlying private equity assets and managing them in an ETF wrapper is exceedingly difficult.”

Another important development is how BlackRock is pulling an ad featuring the gunman involved in the recent shooting at a Donald Trump rally.

The ad, which focused on a teacher from Bethel Park High School, included the gunman in the background. BlackRock stated it will provide all video footage to authorities and has removed the ad out of respect for the victims. The company condemned the assassination attempt on Trump as “abhorrent” and emphasized its commitment to promoting civility. BlackRock, which has reached $10.6 trillion in assets under management, is also a major investor in gun companies.