BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager and oversees iShares, the largest exchange traded fund brand, but chief executive Larry Fink believes the company could do even better.
“People always asked me what do I care about the most for our company, and that’s an easy answer; it’s respect,” Fink said in a Bloomberg article. “Being the largest asset-management company in the world isn’t a stat that I actually care about. If we’re the most respected asset-management company in the world, that’s a pretty lofty position.”
BlackRock has $3.51 trillion in assets under a wide array of assets, including stocks, bonds, institutional accounts, hedge funds, passive strategies and portfolios that use mathematical models. As of the end of March, BlackRock’s U.S.-listed iShares ETFs held $500.4 billion in assets.
The asset manager acquired the iShares line in a bid to expand its reach with retail investors and financial advisors. However, while iShares is the largest provider of ETFs, only 6% of assets is currently in actively managed U.S. retail funds. Fink, though, states that building upon this business is a “big priority.”
The company has already asserted its views on market issues like the newly proposed money-fund rule changes and the dangers of “synthetic” or complex ETFs. [BlackRock’s Fink Says Worried About Leveraged ETFs]
“The core motive driving our brand campaign, our regulatory advocacy and our corporate governance engagement is our responsibility to our clients,” Linda Robinson, a senior managing director and global head of marketing and communications, said in the article. “That is the motivation and what is driving those actions.”
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Max Chen contributed to this article.