Blackrock experienced an 8% drop in revenue during 2022, as assets under management (AUM) fell from $10trn (£8.2trn) to $8.6trn (£7.1trn).
Challenging market conditions wiped $1.5trn (£1.3trn) off AUM, while currency movements eroded a further $220bn (£180bn). These headwinds could not be offset by the $307bn (£252bn) of net inflows the firm attracted across the 12 months.
The majority of those inflows, some $233bn (£191bn), came from the Americas, and while Blackrock’s institutional and ETF ranges saw strong input from clients, retail investors pulled net $20bn (£16bn) across the 12 months.
The 14% drop in AUM was accompanied by a 14% decrease in FY operating income, and the firm’s report also highlighted a restructuring charge of $91m (£75bn) to “modify the size and shape of the workforce to align more closely with strategic priorities”.
Last week, a number of sources reported that the firm was set to cut 500 jobs after details of an internal email were revealed, a move that came just days after Goldman Sachs announced significant job cuts.
Despite the challenging year, Q4 was certainly a bright spot, as the firm attracted $146bn (£120bn) of inflows, which contributed to a $600bn (£492bn) increase in AUM.
Chairman and CEO Larry Fink (pictured) said: “In the United States alone, we generated $230bn (£189bn) of long-term net inflows, and flows were positive across each of our three regions. IShares led the global ETF industry with $220bn (£180bn) of net inflows, including record flows into bond ETFs.
“We ended the year with strong momentum, generating $114bn (£93bn) of fourth-quarter net inflows, representing 3% annualised organic base fee growth, reflecting continued strength in ETFs and significant outsourcing mandates.”
