BlackRock team paper

Analysis of BlackRock

FINA 4350 – Risk Management

Stephen Camili, Tifany Cantu, Mehdi Favre, Alexis Peltier, Shenel Rimando

University of St. Thomas

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Introduction

BlackRock, is the largest publicly owned financial asset management firm traded on the New

York Stock Exchange with $4.77 trillion of assets under management (BlackRock, 2014).  Based

in New York City, BlackRock’s direct competitors are Legg Mason Inc., State Street

Corporation, and UBS Group AG (Yahoo, 2015). BlackRock’s 10-K for 2014 states, the

company has “employees in more than 30 countries who serve clients in over 100 countries

around the globe” (BlackRock, 2014).

History

BlackRock was founded in 1988 by - Larry Fink, Robert S. Kapito, Susan Wagner, Barbara

Novick, Ben Golub, Hugh Frater, Ralph Schlosstein, and Keith Anderson under The Blackstone

Group name (BlackRock, 2015). The founders developed innovations which led to the

development of the investment platform Aladdin, which “combines trading, risk management,

and client reporting” (BlackRock, 2015).  The firm changed its name in 1992 to BlackRock and

reached $17 billion in assets under management by the end of that year. (BlackRock, 2015).

Due to the economic crisis, BlackRock’s profits plummeted by 84% in the fourth quarter of 2008

in comparison to fourth quarter results in 2007 (Mamudi, 2009).  Unlike its competition,

BlackRock was able to hold off on major losses until the end of 2008 (Mamudi, 2009). Its

strongest weapon being the Aladdin platform which allowed the company to gain new business

in 2008 as the economy teetered.  

BlackRock’s success began by offering ETFs and actively managing its portfolio.  The company

was leader in mortgage-backed securities, but analyzed its risks based on each zip code. As a

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result, BlackRock was not only able to reduce its loss during the crisis but became an advisor to

the American government and others during the financial crisis of 2009 (Economist, 2013).  

CEO Larry Fink was able to predict the potential growth for BlackRock through the demise of

many of its competitors.  Mr. Fink stated in 2009, “"I am realistic about the fact that our industry

and our business are smaller solely by virtue of sharply lower asset values…but I believe that

industry consolidation will accelerate and that BlackRock will have meaningful strategic

opportunities” (Mamudi, 2009). As part of this consolidation from 2005 to 2009, BlackRock

acquired State Street Research, Merrill Lynch Investment Manager, Quellos Group, LLC, and

Barclays Global Investors (BlackRock, 2015).

Products

The products BlackRock offers are similar to many asset management companies including

mutual funds (U.S and internationally) ETFs, closed–end funds, alternative investments,

investment planning, college planning, and risk management. At the core of its products is the

Aladdin platform. This platform is sold to other investment companies or investment managers

and allows information to be shared within BlackRock and other Aladdin users. The so called

“collective intelligence” allows asset and portfolio managers to make decisions faster based on

the market and the information available on Aladdin. It is a unified system that combines trade

execution, risk management, and client information. The information within the platform also

allows them faster trades. Of the products offered, mutual funds, iShares ETF, and closed-end

funds have the most diverse subcategory product offerings.

The following list demonstrates the vast array of products offered by BlackRock.

Mutual Funds

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Global/International stocks

o Alternatives

Emerging markets long/short equity fund, Global long/short equity fund,

Commodity strategies fund

o Broad market - US Index fund, International Index Fund

o Dividend - Global Dividend fund, Emerging Markets Dividend Fund

o Emerging Markets - Emerging markets long/short equity fund, Emerging market

allocation fund, Emerging markets dividend fund, Latin America Fund, Emerging

Markets fund

o Global - Global Dividend Fund, Global long/short equity fund, Global

opportunities fund, Global SmallCap fund, Long-Horizon Equity fund

o International - Latin America Fund, ACWI ex-US Index Fund, International

opportunities fund, Pacific fund, EuroFund, International Index fund

o Regional - Emerging markets dividend fund, EuroFund, Latin America Fund,

Pacific Fund

U.S. Stocks

o Alternatives - Large Cap Core Plus fund

o Broad Market - Russell 1000 Index fund

o Dividend - Equity Dividend fund

o Multi cap - Flexible equity fund

o Large cap

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Capital Appreciation fund, Equity dividend fund, Basic value fund, Large

cap core plus fund, Focus growth fund, Large cap growth fund, Large cap

value fund, Russell 1000 Index fund, S&P 500 stock fund

o Mid cap - Mid-cap growth equity fund, Mid cap value opportunities fund, U.S.

Opportunities fund

o Small cap - Small cap growth equity fund, Small cap index fund, Small cap

growth fund II, Value opportunities fund, Disciplined small cap core fund

o Sector - Commodity strategies fund, Energy & resources fund, All-cap energy &

resources fund, Science & technology opportunities fund, Real estate securities

fund, National resources fund, Value opportunities fund, Heath sciences

opportunities fund

Global/international bonds - Global long/short credit fund, Emerging markets flexible

dynamic bond fund, World income fund

U.S. bonds - Global long/short credit fund, Strategic municipal opportunities fund,

Strategic income opportunities fund, Total return fund, U.S. mortgage fund, California

municipal opportunities fund, Core bond fund, Floating rate income fund, Emerging

markets flexible dynamic bond fund, GNMA Fund, High yield bond fund, High yield

municipal fund, U.S. government bond fund, Inflation protected bond fund, Low duration

bond fund, Investment grade bond fund, Secured credit fund, National municipal fund,

New Jersey municipal bond fund, New York municipal opportunities fund, Pennsylvania

municipal bond fund, Short-term municipal fund, World income fund, Bond index fund,

CoreAlpha Bond Fund

Multi-Asset - Asset allocation, Target date, Target risk

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Alternatives-Emerging markets long/short equity fund, Global long/short equity fund,

Real estate securities fund - Global long/short credit fund, Commodity strategies fund,

Strategic income opportunities fund, Strategic municipal opportunities fund, Multi-

manager alternatives strategies fund, Macro Themes fund

Specialty & Sector - Energy and resources fund, Health sciences opportunities fund, Real

estate securities fund

College Advantage 529 - Age-based, Single strategy, Target risk

iShares ETFs – managed by 50 team members globally including 7 PhDs and 14 CFAs

(BlackRock, 2015).

iShares Core, U.S. Stocks, Global/international stocks, U.S. Bonds, Global/international

bonds, Commodity & Specialty

Closed-End Funds - Municipal bonds, Taxable bonds, Stocks/income/sectors

Achieve your goals - Guard against rising rates, Find income, Seek growth, Manage equity

volatility, Minimize tax liability, Fight inflation

CoRI Funds – individuals who are 55 and older who want to plan for retirement.

Target date funds – Funds that are used to develop a retirement account for those younger than

55 years old. Takes into account longevity risk, inflation risk, and market risk.

BlackRock’s reputation in the financial industry is evident with Laurence “Larry” Fink’s recent

awareness around the “desperate search for yield” during a time when interest rates are low

(Grind, 2015). For the CEO of a company to have so much respect among financial analysts

demonstrates the strong reputation BlackRock has for taking risk management seriously.

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Interesting information

The Bank of Greece hired BlackRock to provide analysis on the Greek banking system in 2011.

A Wall Street article published on April 20th of this year stated that nine firms including

BlackRock, J.P. Morgan, T.Rowe Price, Bank of New York want to create a private trading

venue outside of the public view so that they can cut costs and weed out high-frequency traders,

who often have an unfair advantage (Grind, 2015). This relates to BlackRock’s mission to do

what is best for the company and their clients.

Industry Analysis:

BlackRock’s industry is often referred to as Asset Management or Investment Management. This

is the professional asset management of various securities and other assets in order to meet

specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors.  These various securities consist of

shares, bonds, and other securities along with assets such as real estate.  Investors are different

institutions that will provide money to companies such as BlackRock for investment.  The

institutions typically consist of insurance companies, pension funds, corporations, charities, and

educational establishments. The U.S. asset management industry oversees the allocation of

approximately $53 trillion in financial assets.  The industry is central to the allocation of

financial assets on behalf of investors. Discretionary asset management plays a key role in

capital formation and credit intermediation, while spreading any gains or losses across a diverse

population of market participants. The industry is marked by a high degree of innovation, with

new products and technologies frequently reshaping the competitive landscape and changing the

manner in which financial services are provided. Asset management firms and the funds that

they manage transact with other financial institutions to transfer risks, achieve price discovery,

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and invest capital globally through a variety of activities. Asset management activities include

allocating assets and selecting securities, using a variety of investment strategies in registered

and non-registered funds; enhancing returns with derivatives or leverage; and creating

customized investment solutions for larger clients, primarily through so-called separate accounts.

BlackRock, currently leads the industry and has been at the forefront for the last decade.  The

company holds seven percent of the total assets under management making BlackRock the

market leader amongst its competition. According to the II300 (ranking of the 300 largest U.S.

money managers), BlackRock leads in every aspect.  These top 300 money managers jumped

roughly from 38.7 trillion to 42.3 trillion from 2013 to 2014 as a group.  BlackRock has been the

biggest gainer in dollar terms as well as the largest overseas investor in the industry.  With such

growth there is some vulnerability in the industry several factors make the industry vulnerable to

financial shocks including (1) “reaching for yield” and herding behaviors; (2) redemption risk in

collective investment vehicles; (3) leverage, which can amplify asset price movements and

increase the potential for fire sales; and (4) firms as sources of risk. An extended low interest rate

investment climate, low market volatility, or competitive factors may lead some portfolio

managers to “reach for yield,” that is, seek higher returns by purchasing relatively riskier assets

than they would otherwise for a particular investment strategy.  Some asset managers may also

crowd or “herd” into popular asset classes or securities regardless of the size or liquidity of those

asset classes or securities. These behaviors could contribute to increases in asset prices, as well

as magnify market volatility and distress if the markets, or particular market segments, face a

sudden shock. The asset management industry has many practices and regulatory restrictions that

can mitigate such risks. For example, fund- and firm-level investment risk management is

intended to ensure that investments conform to investment mandates and that credit quality, asset

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concentrations, volatility, leverage, and other issues are appropriately managed. Independent risk

managers can reduce the risk of overextending portfolio mandates when they are empowered to

challenge investment decisions.

At a time of great change, asset management CEOs arguably have a greater role to play than

ever. A mild recovery has lifted industry profitability since the financial crisis, yet challenges

abound. Undoubtedly, the global pool of assets under management will grow in the years to

come, but only those firms that adapt swiftly to the changing environment will benefit.  The

industry’s mild resurgence has taken place against considerable headwinds. Nervous financial

markets, new regulatory frameworks, more demanding investors, and fierce competition for

talent are all conspiring to make profitable growth hard won. Making progress in this

environment takes considerable strategic foresight. While the industry has opportunities for

profitable growth, not all firms will succeed, given the magnitude of the change taking place.

The firms that do so will be those that grasp what’s happening and then engineer the

transformations that they need in order to adapt.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Black Rock has gained a strong brand name as one of the world’s largest asset manager.

The strong brand name will give Blackrock the ability to have higher prices on their products,

because its consumers place additional value to the brand. The company’s strong management

can help Blackrock attain its full potential by making use of its strengths and eliminating

weaknesses to preserve a strong brand name. Blackrock has diversified portfolios and services

that it can use to its advantage. Blackrock has professionally managed accounts that are designed

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to help its clients meet the challenges of generating income while managing for risk. Blackrock’s

portfolios and services are made up primarily of exchange-traded funds that search for exposure

to income opportunities in all market environments. In 2009, BlackRock acquired Barclays

Global Investors, giving the firm additional active, index and exchange traded fund capabilities

through iShares. During this period, BlackRock developed multi-asset solutions. Blackrock

became the market leader by acquiring and combining teams that provided a range of client

offerings into one unit, combining asset allocation and a multitude of product solutions that

extended asset classes. BlackRock is the leading global asset manager serving many of the

world's largest companies, pension funds, foundations, and public institutions  as well as millions

of individual investors. Blackrock has clients in over 60 countries and over 10,200 employees

including a major presence in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Weaknesses

Blackrock’s business is subject to various laws and regulations in the numerous countries

in which Blackrock does business with. Therefore, Blackrock can be impacted by legal and

regulatory changes in US and international level. The impact can affect Blackrock in numerous

ways, including the submission of one of the companies. High turnover rates can also negatively

affect a company and its employees in many ways. With the constant need to hire and train new

employees, it is easy get discouraged from true mission and vision of the organization. By

retaining employees, companies can provide a higher workforce that positively affects the

bottom line. Operating margins are also important because they measure efficiency. The higher

the operating margin, the more profitable a company's core business is. If the competitor has a

higher margin, it has more profit and may be more successful than the company and can become

a threat. Therefore, Blackrock should not have weaker margins vs. key competitors like Goldman

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Sachs. Having A high debt burden is also a weakness because it increases the risk of Blackrock

going bankrupt if it makes a poor business decision. Increasing risks can also increase

Blackrock’s debt interest payments.

Opportunities

Blackrock can benefit from an emerging scope in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Emerging markets are fast growing regions of the world that would enable Blackrock to quickly

expand. Emerging markets generally do not have the level of market efficiency and strict

standards in accounting and security regulations to be on par with advanced economies (such as

the United States), but emerging markets will typically have a physical financial infrastructure

including banks, a stock exchange and a unified currency.

Blackrock can also open new opportunities by increasing in short sales in America’s real

estate industry. A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the incomes from selling the property

will falls short of the balance of debts secured by liens (holds on property) against the property,

and the property owner cannot afford to repay the liens full amounts. Therefore the lien holders

agree to release their lien on the real estate and accept less than the amount owed on the debt. A

short sale is often used as an alternative to foreclosure, because it diminishes additional fees and

costs to both the creditor and borrower. However, they both often result in a negative credit

report for the property owner.

Blackrock can also increase growth opportunities through growth prospects and merger

opportunities.  By combining business activities, performance will increase and costs will

decrease. A business will usually attempt to merge with another business’ that has

complementary strengths and weaknesses. Mergers give the bigger company an opportunity to

grow market share without having to really earn it by doing the work themselves. Therefore

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instead, they buy a competitor's business for a price. New Services can also help Blackrock

exceed in meeting their customer’s needs. These different services can expand Blackrock’s

business and diversify their customers.

Threats

Intense competition can lower Blackrock’s profits, because competitors can seduce consumers

away with superior products. A declining economy can also hurt Blackrock’s business by

decreasing the number of potential customers. Likewise, changes in government rules and

regulations can negatively affect Blackrock. Bank regulations can affect the administration and

operations of  Blackrock. The 2008 global financial crisis, made a long-lasting impact on major

investment banks, and their investment banking business. Having Exposure to subprime

mortgage markets is also a threat to Blackrock. Borrowers with credit ratings under 600 will

often have subprime mortgages with higher interest rates. Most lending institutions often ask for

interest on subprime mortgages at a rate that is much higher than an ordinary mortgage in order

to compensate themselves for carrying more risk.

SEC 10-K Filing

From the annual 10-K Blackrock has filed, there is an obvious trend. For 2014, its total

revenue went up to $11,081 million, a 9% increase from $10,180 million in 2013, which also

was a 9% increase from 2012’s revenue of $9,337 million. Its revenue-related expenses

increased as well. In 2014, expenses were at $6,518 million, which was a 6% increase over 2013,

when expenses were $6,156 million, and this was a 7% increase from $5,763 million in 2012.

Revenues and expenses are going up by almost the exact same amount as the year before. This

shows Blackrock’s consistency, because there is not much variation in the amount of growth

over the few years. The company’s margin increased this year again, but at an even larger rate

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than the year before. In 2014, the operating margin was 42.90%, Blackrock was making almost a

43 cent profit on every dollar of revenue. This is significant as no other competitor has an

operating margin even close to matching that of Blackrock. BlackRock’s dividends have greatly

increased over the last few years. The company’s dividends increased from $6 to $6.72 to $7.72

between 2012 and 2014, taking a 12% and 14.9% jump, respectively. Assets under management

continue to be the most impressive numbers as no one else in the industry comes close to

comparing. Coming in at $4.77 trillion, there is no comparison between BlackRock and its

competitors. Assets under management continue to grow showing a 14% increase in 2013 and a

7.5% increase in 2014. One of the most impressive parts of the assets under management is their

organic growth. This means that the number we see in their assets under management is not from

acquisitions or other external factors. The growth comes from things like sales, which shows just

how much revenue they are bringing in and that they are doing it the right way.

Management Discussions

In the 10-K filing, the management of BlackRock discusses some of the reasons they

believe that the past year turned out the way that it did. The biggest reason management gave for

the improvement in the company over the past year was by putting customers before anything

else. Management believes that because they always have their client’s best interests in mind, the

company is more successful, and in turn, the clients are happier and continue to do business with

BlackRock. One of the taglines management uses often is A Divergent World, emphasizing the

rapidly changing financial world. Financial systems and financial questions are getting more

complicated, and also more risky, every year, and BlackRock believes it is best equipped to

handle those complications and risks, since their specialty is risk management. Of course,

Aladdin and iShares and improvements to those platforms are credited for bringing in a large

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amount of revenue. Management also said BlackRock had a higher amount of revenue from

client advising, in addition to simply charging higher base fees. The company leveled expenses

as revenue-related because although the expenses did increase, it was only by an amount

proportional to the revenue. Naturally, bringing in higher revenue usually comes at a cost. The

managers attribute those costs to having to compensate employees more, as well as the costs for

launching new ideas, and simply the cost of running programs and keeping them updated.

Forward-Looking Statements

BlackRock has a very interesting and different type of forward-looking statement as

compared to most other companies. Usually, a company will make predictions about the next

year or quarter to come and outline its plans for the future and the effect the plans and other

factors will have on the company. BlackRock takes a very different approach here. Instead, they

make no claims at all about the future. Listed are 16 independent factors that could have an effect

on the next year of BlackRock, all of which are outside of the company’s control, such as the

economy and consumer trends for the next year. The company specifically does not make

forward-looking statements and that the actual results that come about in the next year could

differ from. By not making any claims about the future nor sugar-coating anything, management

is covering its tracks from a risk perspective. If BlackRock were to make claims, that would put

them in a risky position because investors are expecting them to be right. However, it is

impossible that the claims that they did make could be wrong because all they said was that they

do not know what will happen in the future.

Philanthropy

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One of the more unique aspects of BlackRock is the philanthropy it takes part in.

Employees are very active in their communities by participating in programs that work for the

environment, education, helping the homeless, and cancer research. The company is so

committed to their philanthropy employees receive paid time off from work whenever they

volunteer, and also through a match program where BlackRock matches every dollar rasied for

charity. BlackRock claims that at least 1,900 non-profit organizations are being touched by its

philanthropic work. It is said that high school students in the U.S. that are touched by the

company’s CollegeSet program are seven times more likely to go to college, which shows the

kind of effect BlackRock has on the community. BlackRock is not just donating money to

charities, but actually doing the work in addition to funding programs that are actually reaching

the community and helping people.

Ratios

BlackRock’s main competitors are UBS, a Financial Investment firm and a Commercial Bank;

Legg Mason Incorporation an Asset Management firm that currently holds the least amount of

assets; and State Street Corporation an Asset Management firm and a custodian bank working

with derivatives and delivery dates of assets.

Financial ratios need to be understood in order to continue with the analysis and relation. The

profitability of a company measures how healthy it is in terms of its returns. Profit margin looks

at the revenues after it has been cut by the costs, determining how much a company has left for

more efficient use. The capital employed measures the amount of assets a company has invested.

The return on capital employed measures how much return is made on the investment, thus,

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determining a company’s efficiency at handling its assets. The operating profit is a more dug out

measure of the net profit; it measures how much money is left before taxes.

The liquidity ratios overall help us determine a company’s ability to turn assets into cash at the

right time to be able to pay its debts within one year. In the presentation the focus is on the

current ratio, hence why both the ratios are similar.

The stability ratios measure how healthy a company is in the long term. How much assets it

actually holds against how much assets is held by financial support, hence determining if a

company is stable or unstable.

Finally, we have the investor ratios which is mainly used by the investors to measure a

company’s performance and thus if it is worth the investment or not. The higher the more

interesting for them.

Now implementing all the ratios with the companies involved, having the recent days and the

latest financial crisis as two focal points. BlackRock leads the table with a profit margin of

29.73% in late 2014, with Legg Mason last with a 10.39%, mainly because it is the smallest out

of them all. During the financial depression, UBS’s profit margin plummeted downwards to an

incredible -550%. UBS, Legg Mason and State Street all fell in the negative profit margin during

the recession while BlackRock remained in the positives. Who is the more stable out of them all?

BlackRock.

There is a reason why UBS holds so many assets; it is because it doesn’t only work with asset

management, but also with mortgages, credit cards and private banking. It holds a significant

amount of products. Though it might hold the most capital employed with a 1 trillion amount of

assets employed, its return on that capital is merely a 0.90% against a strong 7.35% from Legg

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Mason. The numbers prove that although LM is a small company compared to the others, it is

able to efficiently invest its assets with a higher return. The reason why UBS’s return is not all

that high is because of its huge product portfolio, which results in a significant high cost. Which

is proved in its operating profit, which currently places at the last position with a 10.35%.

Meaning that all the revenue it earns, is deeply cut down by its costs.

The liquidity of both UBS and STT is immense with both 26.89 and 22.28 respectively,

compared to the 2.8 and the 2.592 from Black Rock and LM respectively. This may be because

one works as a custodian bank and the other also as a commercial bank? Usually, a stable current

ratio would be the ones Blackrock and LM currently hold. Usually a ratio higher than that would

be considered having too much capital, which could be allocated more efficiently elsewhere.

There is a main area that needs to be allayed here and this area is during the financial crisis,

where all three BlackRock, State Street and Legg Mason all had a stable/high current ratio.

While UBS held a low ratio, which meant that when the recession hit, it wasn’t able to repay its

debts at the right time it was highly illiquid. On top of that, not only did it have a low liquidity

ratio, it also had a humongous amount of leverage 16.04 against a ratio of 0.10 and 0.8 and 0.17.

This rendered the company incredibly unstable. Therefore, before the recession UBS was both

incredibly illiquid and unstable which resulted in its downward direction of the negative profits.

Usually a normal ratio would be below 30%, which means a company holds more assets itself

rather than the assets being held financially supported. A ratio higher than 50% is considered

unstable. So when we look at both STT and UBS we can imagine how high their leverage was

during the recession compared to the other two. But UBS was still on a whole other level. Which

could represent why both STT and UBS both learned from their mistakes and now hold a

significantly lower leverage and an extremely high liquidity ratio especially.

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Recently UBS’ market cab went down 0.75%, while the others are on a positive rate, with State

Street on a 1.77%. A decrease in market cap could be a reason of buying more shares, which is

possibly what UBS has done. BlackRock holds the most expensive stock price of 370 while UBS

holds the least expensive 19.80. A large market cap is usually represented as a slowly growing

company growth, but a more stable position. A small market cap is usually represented as a fast

growing company, but with a risky position. Therefore although UBS is one to avoid, if it wasn’t

on a negative rate, it would have been a really good choice for investors, with it providing a

cheap price for its stock with a stable position, and as of recently also interesting for investors

with its high dividend yield of 2.64%. Sadly it is not in the positive, therefore BlackRock

although charging high stock prices, would be a stable decision with still a high dividend yield of

2.35%.

Finally, we can see a trend in most of the financial ratios, this trend being that BlackRock proved

to be the most stable compared to its rivals. Its dividend yield was the highest until UBS recently

added more yield. Its leverage ratio was always stable even during the recession. It holds most of

its assets by itself. Its current ratio was always stable even during the recession, with it being

able to pay off its debts rapidly. Its operating profits were always at a higher rate compared to its

rivals. Its revenue never descended by a significant amount at any point during the last decade,

unlike the other rivals. And of course its profit margin similar to its operating margin was stable

for the last decade. Overall Black Rock leading in terms of stability.

Conclusion

With BlackRock’s current reputation, we foresee BlackRock continuing to be a leader in

the financial industry. If Laurence “Larry” Fink continues to be a part of the company, then

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BlackRock’s conservative approach to risk management will allow its clients success in portfolio

and/or asset management. It will be interesting to see how the “dark pool” of private investing

outside of the public view among nine investment firms will benefit BlackRock and the financial

industry. CEO Larry Fink does not make decisions lightly and future decisions will benefit the

company for the best.

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http://www.blackrock.com/corporate/en-us/about-us/philanthropy

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