BlackRock Sees ETF Crunch Even as Assets Reach $6.3 Trillion

ETF net flows fell 46% in first quarter on volatile markets
Asset manager beats estimates driven in part by lower tax rate

Bloomberg’s Peggy Collins discusses how volatility is impacting BlackRock’s ETF business.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Sabrina Willmer

April 12, 2018 at 10:39 AM UTC

Updated on

April 12, 2018 at 4:53 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Even as BlackRock Inc.’s assets advanced to $6.3 trillion and its growth appears unstoppable, there are signs the firm isn’t invincible.

Net flows for its global iShares exchange-traded funds declined 46 percent in the first quarter to $34.6 billion from a year earlier. Yet the world’s largest asset manager’s earnings beat estimates, which pushed the shares up as much as 3.1 percent Thursday.