Proving the old stock market adage that it is often better to travel than arrive, shares in BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) held firm in early trade and after what looked like a solid set of quarterly figures.
A 4% rise in the five days up the results largely price surprise news in the figures.
Assets under management reached a record $10.65 trillion in the second quarter, driven by rising client asset values and significant investments in the company's exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This marks an increase from $9.43 trillion a year earlier and $10.5 trillion in the previous quarter.
The surge in assets was supported by a 4% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the reported quarter.
The company saw total net inflows of $81.57 billion for the quarter, slightly above the $80.16 billion from the same period last year. ETFs accounted for the majority of these inflows, capturing $83 billion, marking their best start to a year on record.
In line with its strategy to expand in private markets, BlackRock agreed to buy data provider Preqin for nearly $3.2 billion. This follows a $12.5 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners earlier this year, reflecting the firm's bet on alternative assets.
Revenue from investment advisory and administration fees increased by 8.6% to $3.72 billion, while technology services revenue, driven by demand for BlackRock's Aladdin platform, rose 10% to $395 million.
Overall, BlackRock's total revenue grew by 8% to $4.81 billion. Net income for the quarter rose to $1.50 billion, or $9.99 per share, up from $1.37 billion, or $9.06 per share, a year earlier.
The stock opened the session off 98 cents at $827.22.