BlackRock founder Larry Fink has sounded a positive note on the global economy despite “many reasons to be worried and hit pause”, arguing that the miasma that enveloped financial markets in late 2018 was probably overdone.
The turbo-charged growth of the world’s largest investment manager over recent years went into reverse in 2018. Markets suffered their worst month since the financial crisis in December, shrinking its assets under management to just under $6tn.
However, the resilience of its exchange-traded fund business — which is once again enjoying $1bn-a-day inflows — helped BlackRock’s shares bounce more than 4 per cent on Wednesday.