Robust long-term inflows and growth in assets under management (“AUMâ€) continued to be impressive in first quarter for BlackRock (BLK). The company posted decent first quarter results last week, wherein adjusted earnings of $4.89 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.51 for the sixth consecutive quarter. Also, the bottom line compared favorably with the year-ago quarter tally of $4.43.
As of Mar 31, AUM totaled $4.77 trillion, rising 8% year over year. Further, the company witnessed total long-term inflows of $70.4 billion
In tune with the decent first quarter results, the BlackRock mutual funds too posted encouraging returns in the first quarter. The best gains for a BlackRock mutual fund hit an encouraging 11.4%, while the lowest gain among the top 15 gainers stood at 4.4%. Another interesting trend in the top 15 list is that it consists of funds from 10 varied categories (considering Large Growth and Mid Cap growth to be different). The top spot is occupied by BlackRock Mid Cap Growth Eq A (BMGAXÂ -Â MF report) from the Mid-Cap Growth category, while the 15thranked BlackRock Small Cap Index A (MDSKX) is from Small Blend category.
Fund Family:Â BlackRock
BlackRock is one of the world’s leading asset management firms and offers a range of risk management, strategic advisor and enterprise investment system services. With $4.77 trillion worth of assets under management, the company caters to institutional, intermediary as well as individual investors. Its offerings range from individual and institutional separate accounts, mutual funds and other pooled investment options. BlackRock aims to provide a wide range of investment solutions, helping investors strike a balance between risk and opportunities.
Coming back to the first quarter returns, the best gains from BlackRock family of 11.4% outperformed the counterparts from American Funds , Vanguard and even Wells Fargo. For American Funds, American Funds EuroPacific Gr R5 (RERFX) had the best gains at 5.9%. The top-performing Vanguard fund was Vanguard Pacific Stock Index Inv (VPACX), notching up 8%, while the best performing Wells Fargo fund was Wells Fargo Advantage Emerging Gr A (WEMAX).
