Blackrock Analysis

History of BlackRock

        BlackRock, headquartered in New York City, is a multinational investment management firm with offices in 27 countries worldwide. Most big banks also have asset management divisions that compete with BlackRock. With over $3.7 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock is the largest asset management firm in the world.

BlackRock began back in 1988 with just eight employees under the moniker of “The Blackstone Group”.  They started by striving to make a better asset management firm. They all wanted to put the wants and needs of clients first and had the same goal of investing through data-driven choices. Initially the firm focused on fixed-income by listening to clients, they were able to develop innovations related to closed-end funds, trusts, defined contribution plans and more. One of the innovations was the Blackstone Term Trust, which generated $1 billion and put the business on track for steady growth and success.

In 1992, the firm changed its name to BlackRock and had $17 billion in assets under management. By the end of 1994 that $17 billion had grown to $53 billion. In 1995 the firm became a part of PNC Financial, and shortly thereafter began managing open-end mutual funds, including equity funds. With the new association, BlackRock had access to PNC’s large distribution network and new opportunities for diversification through PNC affiliates specializing in equity and other investments. As its diversification grew, the firm changed to One BlackRock, and developed a core principle that insisted on a coordinated platform. By managing fixed-income, equity and other businesses together, BlackRock put in place its client-focused business model in which the entire firm’s resources and products could be leveraged for the benefit of clients.

In 1999, BlackRock went public with broad employee ownership. By the end of that year, the firm had $165 billion in assets under management and that figure would grow to $342 billion by the...