How BlackRock Became The World's Largest Asset Manager

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Published 2021-10-13
BlackRock is one of the world’s most influential companies in finance. At the end of the third quarter, it had $9.464 trillion in assets under management, making it the biggest asset manager in the world.

That scale gives CEO Larry Fink a voice in the international effort to fight global warming. Fink kicked off the decade with a letter to shareholders that called for better stewardship of environment, social and corporate governance issues.

These concerns stem from BlackRock’s conversations with clients across the globe. At a conference at the Bank of Italy earlier this year, Fink said that enforcing emissions reporting standards for public companies “will have the unintended consequences of fueling a backlash against our big companies, and it will promote a narrative of big versus small, and it will create greater and greater political polarization.”

Legal scholars like University of Virginia’s Paul Mahoney say the push for better ESG standards may transcend the typical boundaries of fiduciary responsibility.

“BlackRock in particular has been quite clear in their messaging that they believe that using ESG factors across its portfolio will help them deliver better returns,” the law professor told CNBC.

Fink and his team built their empire by focusing on long-term risk management and technology. This made BlackRock one of the world’s most powerful firms in a relatively short period of time. Now, they’re using that influence to push public corporations into taking action on ESG issues.

Watch the video above to see how BlackRock rose to the top of the financial world, and hear their plans for the future of the global economy.

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How BlackRock Became The World's Largest Asset Manager

All Comments (21)
  • @CJ-wright
    Why you should start accumulating undervalued stocks. Later, when stocks begin to rally, short-term investors, day traders, technical analysts, brokerage firms and news media work for long-term investors and help stocks rise significantly. Let them work for you.
  • @alexsteven.m6414
    Successful investing is hard work because it means disciplining your mind to do the opposite of human nature. Buying during a panic, selling during euphoria, and holding on when you are bored and just craving a little action. Investing is 5% intellect and 95% temperament.
  • @jessicamoore3093
    Building wealth from nothing involves consistent saving, disciplined spending, and strategic investments. Begin by creating a budget to track expenses and identify areas for savings. Prioritize paying off high-interest debt and establishing an emergency fund. As you build a foundation, start investing in low-cost options like index funds, and focus on continuous learning and improving your skills for better income opportunities.
  • Every week I buy more of whatever is the lowest percentage of my portfolio and try to keep everything around 10%. Please what could be my safest buys with $400k to outperform the market in 2024?
  • @jonadams5547
    Black rock is one of the top institutional stock holders of Comcast which indirectly owns NBC, which owns CNBC.
  • Protecting your capital is much more important than making money. Basically because if you lose your capital, making money is much harder. ''Missing the train'' vs. ''losing your money''. There are a lot of trains, but if your money is gone, it's over.
  • There is potential for considerable wealth increase with the correct strategy. I want to know; How can one take advantage of compound interest and potentially grow your retirement savings/net-worth to about $3M over time?
  • @gingerkilkus
    Building wealth involves developing good habits like regularly putting money away in intervals for solid investments. Financial management is a crucial topic that most tend to shy away from, and ends up haunting them in the near future. Making money is not the same as keeping it there is a reason why investments aren't well taught in schools, the examples you gave are well stationed, the market crisis gave me my first millions, people shy away from hard times, I embrace them.. well at least my advisor does lol.
  • I believe investors should focus on under-the-radar stocks, especially given the present rollercoaster nature of the stock market. 35% of my $270,000 portfolio consists of collapsing stocks that were previously respected, and I don't know where to go from here.
  • In the middle of 2024, I think we'll start to see more market diversification. I'm hoping to invest about $300,000 from a recent home sale into the financial markets, but I'm still not sure how rates will effect the market just yet, which worries me a lot. Like how long will the bull rally last before the reset?.
  • @davidbastiaan1
    I have been exchanging for around a half year now and pretty much every exchange explosions and smacks me my face. Almost unthinkable for me to get in excess of a couple of focuses I attempt to do top down examination however it doesn't work for me . I share with myself, obviously I'm in the 90% that lose cash, so I open a demo account, do my examination, then take something contrary to what I would typically take and come by a similar outcome. I'm beginning to feel miserable, any guidance for a striving merchant?
  • @Andrian-ch3on
    I didn't become financially independent until I was in my mid 40s, in addition to owning a second house making money on a monthly basis through passive income, and I've also met some of my goals. I really hope this motivates someone to know that it doesn't matter if you don't have any of these things yet; no matter your age, you can start today. Investing can help you change your future! By participating in the financial market, I took a significant decision.
  • @claraclouse9086
    Concluding 2022 with a 20% decline in the S&P 500, long-term investors find a promising entry into 2023. Noteworthy ETFs include: $VOO for S&P 500, $VTI for total US market, $QQQ for tech growth, and $SCHD for growth with dividends. Calculating my annual dividends, I'm thankful for $167k—attributing it to discipline and focus.
  • @champhallier8468
    As a soon-to-be retiree, keeping my 401k on track after a bumpy 2022 is a high goal. I've read about investors generating up to $250k ROI in this present sinking market; any suggestions for increasing my ROI before retirement would be greatly appreciated.
  • @lawrencedyke
    Every time I watch a video like this, I'm reminded of how much I regret not buying bitcoin at the time. invested a large sum of money in early-stage crypto assets with the expectation that they would eventually flourish. How are other people in the same market making over $250k in earnings in a matter of months, baffling.
  • @philcrowley007
    Venturing into investments without knowledge and experience is like walking on a shattered glass blindfolded, it is very detrimental
  • Blackrock is also buying houses like crazy. As a renter just try to get something repaired.
  • @wilmabrock6401
    At the very least, I now grasp the concept of leverage. Creating wealth and financial freedom isn't as tough as many people believe. Building wealth and remaining financially stable indefinitely is a lot easier with the appropriate information. Participating in financial programs and products is the only true approach to make a high income and remain affluent indefinitely.
  • @sbradshaw1886
    Very interesting that when you listed everything that Blackrock was looking into buying you left out HOMES. Blackrock has been buying houses and land left and right the past few years along with other companies so I'm wondering why you left this out.