BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager and is known for its iShares exchange-traded funds.
The company was founded in 1988 by Larry Fink and several partners. It began as a fixed-income and risk-management firm, then expanded through acquisitions and the growth of index investing. BlackRock’s assets under management include pension assets, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and institutional portfolios.
Its iShares division is one of the best-known ETF businesses worldwide. The size of its fee-generating asset base has helped BlackRock become one of the largest publicly traded financial companies by market capitalization.
BlackRock is often confused with Blackstone. BlackRock mainly manages investments for clients, while Blackstone is best known for alternative investments such as private equity and real estate.