BlackRock, the world’s leading asset manager, announced today that its assets under management (AUM) surpassed $10 trillion for the first time, exceeding expectations in the second quarter.
According to the Financial Times, BlackRock’s assets under management rose 13% from the same period last year to now stand at a record $10.6 trillion. The firm saw net inflows of $82 billion in the second quarter of the year, missing expectations of $112 billion after equity and fixed income inflows fell.
The company reported a rise in earnings per share (EPS) to $9.99 from $9.06, alongside a 7.7% increase in revenue, reaching $4.8 billion. Its net income rose to $1.5 billion thanks to improved margins, topping analyst expectations of $1.47 billion.
BlackRock’s dominance extends beyond traditional asset management. The company is also the largest public holder of bitcoin through its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exchange-traded fund (ETF), which currently holds more than 300,000 BTC worth more than $18 billion.
The company’s ETF inflows, per the report, were boosted by investor interest in IBIT, at a time in which the price of the flagship cryptocurrency has dropped from its all-time high around $73,500, to a low just above $53,000 before recovering.
Year-to-date, the flagship cryptocurrency’s price moved up more than 48% to currently stand at $62,700. Its price surged after former U.S. President Donald Trump suffered an assassination attempt that spurred speculation the pro-crypto presidential candidate could be reelected later this year.
On prediction markets, Trump’s chance of being elected has shot up after the incident with his chances on Polymarket now standing at 71%, compared to 18% for Biden, 5% for Kamala Harris and just 3% for Michelle Obama. Trump’s chances of success, according to prediction market users, stood at 60% just before the assassination attempt.
Featured image via Pixabay.
