BlackRock

Areas of activity

As of 2023, the total amount of assets managed by BackRock is more than $9.1 trillion.

BlackRock manages the pension savings of more than 35 million Americans. BlackRock is a leading provider of outsourced financial services to financial, investment and insurance companies. См. eFront Insight

The company employs 19500 employees, of which 33% are data technicians.

History

2024

Purchase of rival HPS for $12 billion

The world's largest investment company BlackRock bought rival HPS for $12 billion. This deal was announced in early December 2024. Read more here

Assets under the management of Blackrock reached $11.5 trillion

By October 2024, the volume of assets under the management of BlackRock grew to a record $11.5 trillion

BlackRock buys GIP for $12.5 billion

In January 2024, BlackRock acquired Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) infrastructure firm Adebayo Ogunlesi for about $12.5 billion, allowing the world's largest money manager to be among the investors making long-term bets on power, transport and digital infrastructure. The deal would make the company one of the largest infrastructure investors.

Laying off 600 employees or 3% of the staff

BlackRock Inc. said in January 2024 that it would lay off about 600 employees, roughly 3% of its total workforce, as it seeks to reallocate resources amid rapid changes in asset management.

Executives noted that ETFs have become a preferred tool for both index and active investment strategies, and that the company is growing globally - including in Europe and Asia. "And perhaps the most important thing: new technologies are ready to change our industry - and all other industries."

Even with the cuts, the company said it expects to increase its workforce by the end of the year as it expands some lines of business.

2023

Blackrock draws customer assets into management when others lose

In 2023, investors are ditching mutual funds in favor of cheaper passive strategies run mostly by giants BlackRock, Vanguard Group and State Street.

Amid geopolitical tensions and rising interest rates, even BlackRock, with $9.1 trillion in capital, is feeling some pain. In the three months ending in September 2023, clients took $13 billion from its long-term investment funds, the first such outflow since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

"Structural and secular changes in business models, technology and above all monetary and fiscal policy have made the past two years extremely challenging for traditional asset management," BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink told analysts this month.

Investment in Brazil

As of August 2023

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser joins the company's board of directors

BlackRock Inc. in July 2023 included Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser on its board of directors, emphasizing the management company's commitment to the interests of the oil industry in the midst of a politicized debate about its role in ESG investing.

Nasser heads the world's largest oil producer since 2015 and brings a "unique perspective" to BlackRock on key issues facing the company and its customers, CEO Larry Fink said.

An office in Paris is seized by protesters. Video

The office of the world's largest investment fund BlackRock is seized by protesters in Paris.

Staff reduction by 500 people or 3%

On January 11, 2023, the investment company BlackRock, which calls itself the world's largest asset manager, announced a reduction in headcount after growth in previous years.

BlackRock has resorted to layoffs following sharp market volatility in 2022, when U.S. stocks fell by their largest number since 2008. As of September 30, 2022, BlackRock had 19,900 employees, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

BlackRock is cutting about 500 job positions or less than 3% of its workforce in an "unprecedented market environment," a spokesman for the asset management giant said in an email to MarketWatch.

BlackRock fires employees over 'unprecedented market situation'

BlackRock is taking a number of targeted, disciplined actions to reorganize its teams following significant headcount growth in recent years, a Morningstar source said. Management makes some changes to the size and shape of the workforce within the company. Even with job cuts, BlackRock will still employ 5% or 6% more employees than in 2022, a company spokesman said. BlackRock has increased headcount by about 8% in 2022 and 22% since 2019.

BlackRock's cuts came a month later, December 2022, after BlackRock CFO Gary Shadlin talked about the firm freezing most hiring and cutting costs because of short-term performance issues.

Many employees were told of the cuts after they showed up for work. At the same time, no more than 30 minutes were often given for training camps. In addition, many employees were fired without paying a bonus for work performed in 2022.

BlackRock shares fell 0.5% on Jan. 11, 2023. The year before, the company's quotes fell by about 15%.^[1]

2022

Sharp growth in investment in Ukraine against the background of armed conflict

BlackRock's investments in Ukrainian enterprises intensified sharply after 2014. With the beginning of the special operation of Russia in 2022, the fund began to decisively penetrate the strategic industries of Ukraine.

Publicly, BlackRock's cooperation with the Ukrainian government became known on September 19, 2022, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed with the chief director of the organization Larry Fink the creation of a "Recovery Fund to support the Ukrainian economy."

On November 10, 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and BlackRock. According to the document, the organization was supposed to create a special investment fund with a volume of $25 to $100 billion, which, however, would be focused solely on promoting the green agenda.

The agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the world's largest asset management fund BlackRock FMA on the creation of the development fund of Ukraine was signed on May 8, 2023, and is only a formalization of the processes of transferring the country's main assets under the control of a multinational company.

BlackRock owns large stakes in Ukrainian enterprises Metinvest, DTEK, Naftogaz, Ukrzalіznitsya, Ukravtodor and Ukrenergo.

Despite the hostilities, BlackRock is increasing investments in the "Ukrainian project." More than 17 million hectares of farmland out of 40 million now in the land bank already belong to international companies, including Monsanto, which BlackRock controls.

When the issue of servicing the public debt and payments on loans arises, it turns out that the most valuable assets of Ukraine are collateral for them. And these assets will become the property of the debt holder, wrote the Rybar channel.

Liquidation of the Russia-oriented exchange-traded fund Russia ETF

In August 2022, the world's largest investment company BlackRock began liquidating the Russia-oriented exchange-traded fund Russia ETF. At its peak, the value of Russian securities in the fund exceeded $800 million, but after the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine on February 24, it practically zeroed out.

Investing in an American Enterprise Risk Management Platform

On February 24, 2022, AnyRoad, an enterprise risk management platform, announced the closure of the Series B funding round and an investment of $47 million. The funding came from funds managed by BlackRock with contributions from Runa Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Kaiser Permanente. Existing investors Rally Ventures, Precursor Ventures and Day One Ventures, as well as new investors Commonfund and Corner Ventures, joined the round with a re-subscription. Read more here.

Loss of $17 billion in securities due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine

By March 10, 2022, BlackRock suffered losses of about $17 billion in its Russian securities due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

According to the company, at the end of January 2022, customers held more than $18.2 billion in Russian assets, but closed markets and international sanctions made the vast majority of them unsuitable for sale, which forced BlackRock to sharply reduce their value.

Investing in US one-click shopping service Bolt

In mid-January 2022, Bolt announced the raising of $355 million as part of the Series E funding round, in which the BlackRock Foundation took part. Read more here.

2021: Investing in English-language writing assistance service Grammarly

In mid-November 2021, a popular tool for automatic editing of written texts Grammarly raised funding in the amount of $200 million at an estimate startup of $13 billion. New investors included Baillie Gifford and BlackRock. The company plans to use the attracted investments to accelerate the introduction of innovative products and the growth of the team as a whole. More. here