BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, overseeing trillions of dollars through funds and portfolios.
BlackRock was founded in 1988 by Larry Fink and several partners as a risk-management and fixed-income investment firm. It expanded into a broad asset-management business serving institutions, governments, financial advisers, and individual investors.
Its iShares brand is a major provider of exchange-traded funds, including funds that track stock indexes, bonds, commodities, and other assets. BlackRock also provides technology and risk-analysis services through its Aladdin platform.
Assets under management are not the same as BlackRock’s own assets or market capitalization. They represent money managed for clients, while the company’s shareholders own BlackRock itself. This distinction is important when comparing asset managers with banks, technology companies, or industrial corporations.