Better portfolios. Better futures.

Training for a marathon. Learning to play an instrument. And investing for the future.

In order to succeed tomorrow, you have to take action today — and keep at it.

Investing on behalf of clients is BlackRock’s business.

And because we have purposefully invested in developing our platform, our technology and our people for more than 30 years, we have the capabilities to create better portfolios that help more and more people achieve better financial futures and, ultimately, experience financial well-being.

Read more about how our diverse platform enables us to build better portfolios for clients.

Global needs. Growth opportunities.

People are living longer. In fact, the number of centenarians around the world is expected to more than double in the next decade. And while people are also working longer, many have not saved enough for an additional decade or two of retirement. In order to support ourselves financially over our lifetimes, we need to invest early and consistently.

In many emerging markets across Asia and Latin America, wealth creation and rising income levels are bringing billions of people into the middle class for the first time, fueling more demand for financial services than ever before.

In the United States, the traditional pension system has largely disappeared, leaving more individuals with the responsibility of planning for and funding their retirements on their own and with little guidance. And in Europe, persistent low rates and uneven economic growth have made financial security more difficult to achieve.

Around the world, the need for effective, proven investment management is growing rapidly.

In the US, 10,000 baby boomers will retire each day for the next decade.

In Asia-Pacific, the middle class is expected to grow to over 3 billion people by 2030.

In Europe, nearly 50% of the $26 trillion wealth market is sitting in cash, uninvested.

In Latin America, 81 million more people could obtain access to financial services through digital tools over the next decade.

The increasing need for asset management around the world presents significant growth opportunities for BlackRock.
Over the next 4 years, global industry assets under management are expected to grow by $30 trillion to $125 trillion.

US
+$12 trillion  +6% CAGR

Asia-Pacific
+$10 trillion   +12% CAGR

Europe
+$7 trillion +7% CAGR

Latin America
+$1 trillion + 9% CAGR

BlackRock has built the globally diverse investment and technology platform we have today so we can help people bridge those gaps and meet their goals. We have 14,900 employees in 69 cities and more than 30 countries around the world. In each region, we have taken the time to listen to clients and understand their needs, while also developing local market expertise.

The opportunity to meet the needs of clients globally will lead to growth for BlackRock and value for shareholders.

BlackRock has developed the most comprehensive investment and technology platform so we can build better portfolios that help more people build better futures.

Better Portfolios

Letter to our shareholders

As I reflected on the last year, something felt different about 2018.