(Reuters) - The world's largest money manager BlackRock's assets increased to a record high in the first quarter despite volatility in financial markets fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff proposals.
Assets managed by the New York-based firm increased to $11.58 trillion from $10.47 trillion at the end of the same three-month period a year earlier and from $11.55 trillion at the end of last year, it said on Friday.
BlackRock's net income declined to $1.51 billion, or $9.64 per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $1.57 billion, or $10.48 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted for items like acquisition-related costs, earnings per share were $11.30, up 15% year on year.
The increase comes despite broader weakening in U.S. stocks in the first quarter, as market optimism over Trump's return to the White House was followed by economic uncertainty caused by announcements of U.S. tariffs on trade partners.
"Uncertainty and anxiety about the future of markets and the economy are dominating client conversations," BlackRock’s CEO and Chairman Larry Fink said in a statement.
"We've seen periods like this before when there were large, structural shifts in policy and markets – like the financial crisis, COVID, and surging inflation in 2022. We always stayed connected with clients, and some of BlackRock’s biggest leaps in growth followed," he said.
The benchmark S&P 500 index fell 4.6% in the first quarter of 2025, its worst start to a year since 2022.
Total expenses in the quarter rose to $3.58 billion from $3.04 billion last year.
BlackRock saw long-term net inflows of $83 billion, up from $76 billion a year ago. A majority of the long-term inflows were captured fixed income products, at $37.7 billion, down from $41.7 billion a year ago.
Equity product inflows in the first quarter stood at $19.3 billion, up from $18.4 billion a year earlier.
""BlackRock is among the largest providers of bond funds, while also having significant size advantages in equities, alternative assets and cash products," Kyle Sanders, financial services analyst for Edward Jones said in a note.
"This diversity reduces earnings volatility through the course of market cycles," he said.
Fink said earlier this week that the U.S. economy might already be contracting, days after Trump's announcement of steep new tariffs unleashed a punishing market rout. Trump later temporarily lowered levies on certain countries in a surprise reversal that offered some relief to bruised markets worldwide.
BlackRock stocks have lost nearly 11% since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcements last week.
However, Fink has said that the market weakness was "more of a buying opportunity than a selling opportunity" in the long run and did not pose systemic risks.
By Pritam Biswas and Davide Barbuscia
Editing by Devika Syamnath, Kim Coghill and Chizu Nomiyama
