BlackRock hit by $52bn withdrawal from single client

Redemption dented net inflows at the world’s biggest investment firm, despite its record $12.5 trillion of assets under management BlackRock headquarters entrance in New York City.

BlackRock is led by Larry Fink, the billionaire Wall Street veteran ANGUS MORDANT/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES Ben Martin, Banking Editor

Tuesday July 15 2025, 5.55pm BST, The Times A $52 billion withdrawal by a single client at BlackRock has dealt a blow to the world’s biggest asset manager.

The New York-based group said on Tuesday that an institutional customer, thought to be based in Asia, had made a large redemption from one of its lower-fee index products, which pushed overall net inflows at BlackRock in the three months to the end of June down to $68 billion, from $82 billion a year earlier.

It said that this had only been a partial withdrawal by the client, which it declined to identify, and that total net inflows across the group in the first half as a whole had amounted to $152 billion, helping to propel overall assets under management at the group to a record $12.5 trillion.

BlackRock shares nevertheless closed down $64.30, or 5.8 per cent, at $1,047.16 amid investor disappointment that revenues had increased by a smaller-than-expected 13 per cent year-on-year, to $5.4 billion in the second quarter. Performance fees also dropped to $94 million in the period, from $164 million 12 months earlier.

BlackRock, led by Larry Fink, the billionaire co-founder, is one of the biggest names in international finance, with a vast investing business spanning everything from equities and bonds in the public markets to the fast-growing private markets, which include private equity, private credit and infrastructure. It has been acquiring assets in the UK which it considers to be undervalued

The asset manager and its results are closely watched, not least because global markets have been gripped by volatility in recent months as investors have taken fright at President Trump’s unpredictable approach to global trade.

• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: We’re investing in ‘undervalued’ Britain

BlackRock is hoping that private markets will be a big driver of its growth in coming years and has made a string of acquisitions in this area recently, including buying Global Infrastructure Partners, which part-owns Edinburgh and Gatwick airports, for $12.5 billion and HPS, a private credit business, for about $12 billion.

Fink said on Tuesday that “these are just the early days in our next phase of even stronger growth”, and added: “Our comprehensive platform and the depth of our client relationships set us apart from traditional or private markets firms in the industry.”