Summary of BlackRock's 2026 Conference Call Company Overview - **Company**: BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) - **Industry**: Asset Management - **AUM**: Over $14 trillion, making it the largest asset manager globally [3][4] Key Financial Performance - **Organic Base Fee Growth**: Achieved a record 12% in Q4 2025, with an annual growth of 9% for the year, significantly above market expectations [3][4] - **Sustainable Growth Projection**: Expected normalized organic base fee growth of 6%-7% moving forward [5][6] Strategic Priorities for 2026 - **Integration of Acquisitions**: Focus on integrating recent acquisitions, including Global Infrastructure Partners and HPS Investment Partners, to maximize synergies [11][12] - **Fundraising Goals**: Targeting $400 billion in growth fundraising by 2030, leveraging institutional relationships and wealth channels [12][13] - **iShares Growth**: Continued double-digit organic growth in ETFs, with $530 billion of organic asset growth in 2025 [13][14] - **Technology and Data**: Aiming for mid-teens annual contract value (ACV) growth in the Aladdin business, which finished 2025 at 16% ACV [14][15] - **Wealth Management Expansion**: Significant opportunities in wealth management, particularly in integrating private markets into wealth platforms [15][16] Market Trends and Opportunities - **Consolidation in Asset Management**: The top five asset managers are capturing approximately 80% of industry flows, indicating a trend towards consolidation [6][7] - **Digital Wallets and Crypto**: BlackRock sees digital wallets as a new distribution channel, with 820 million crypto wallets holding significant economic value [22][23][26] - **Tokenization of ETFs**: Plans to tokenize ETF offerings to tap into the growing digital wallet ecosystem [29][30] Systematic Active Equity Business - **Strong Demand**: Experienced $50 billion in inflows into systematic strategies, highlighting a shift in the perception of scale as a driver of alpha [40][43] - **Diverse Product Offering**: Growth across multiple products, including active ETFs and hedge funds, contributing to systematic flows [45][46] M&A Strategy - **Focus on Integration**: Current emphasis on integrating recent acquisitions rather than pursuing new large-scale M&A [66][67] - **Selective Acquisitions**: Open to smaller, accretive transactions that align with growth in private markets and technology [66][67] Operating Margins - **Current Margin Performance**: Achieved an adjusted operating margin of 45% in Q4 2025, with expectations to maintain or exceed this level [59][61] - **Long-term Margin Goals**: Potential to grow fully burdened operating margins above 45% through strategic investments and organic growth [61][62] White Space Opportunities - **Expansion Areas**: Identified opportunities in secondaries, investment-grade finance, and data completion related to Preqin [69][71] Conclusion - BlackRock is well-positioned for continued growth through strategic integration of acquisitions, expansion in wealth management, and leveraging technology in asset management. The focus on digital wallets and tokenization reflects a forward-looking approach to evolving market dynamics.

Group 1 - The semiconductor and chip industry is crucial for the artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure revolution, with several ETFs providing leveraged exposure to leading companies in this sector [1] - Unbiased Alpha is a Swiss Fintech startup that offers consulting services to institutional investors globally, focusing on quantitative trading and systematic strategies [1] - The company specializes in developing software solutions, cloud services, and API-based data science algorithms, emphasizing machine learning and AI in its investment strategies [1] Group 2 - Unbiased Alpha has extensive experience managing funds over $1 billion in assets under management (AuM) with small teams [1] - The research conducted by Unbiased Alpha covers various asset classes and instruments, including stocks, ETFs, foreign exchange, commodities, and cryptocurrencies [1] - The company also monitors hedge funds as part of its comprehensive investment strategy [1]

Group 1: Biotechnology Sector - The biotechnology sector is characterized by long, expensive, and uncertain development paths, where enterprise value is derived from research quality, patent soundness, and clinical success likelihood [1] Group 2: Unbiased Alpha - Unbiased Alpha is a Swiss Fintech startup that provides consulting services to institutional investors globally, focusing on quantitative trading and systematic strategies [1] - The company develops software solutions, cloud services, and API-based data science algorithms, emphasizing investment and trading [1] - Unbiased Alpha has experience managing over $1 billion in assets under management (AuM) with small teams, specializing in statistical arbitrage, systematic strategies, and innovative machine learning algorithms [1] - The research conducted by Unbiased Alpha spans various asset classes and instruments, particularly stocks, ETFs, FX, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, including futures, CFDs, options, and DeFi products [1] - The company also monitors hedge funds as part of its research focus [1]

Biotechnology Sector - The biotechnology sector is characterized by long, expensive, and uncertain development paths, where enterprise value is derived from the quality of the research portfolio, soundness of patents, and likelihood of clinical success [1] Unbiased Alpha - Unbiased Alpha is a Swiss Fintech startup that consults institutional investors globally in quantitative trading and systematic strategies [1] - The company develops software solutions, cloud services, and API-based data science algorithms, focusing on investing and trading [1] - Unbiased Alpha has extensive experience managing over $1 billion in assets under management (AuM) in small teams, emphasizing statistical arbitrage, systematic strategies, and innovative machine learning algorithms [1] - The research conducted by Unbiased Alpha spans various asset classes and instruments, with a focus on stocks, ETFs, FX, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, including futures, CFDs, options, and DeFi products [1] - The company also monitors hedge funds [1]

Group 1 - BlackRock Science and Technology Trust (NYSE: BST) offers a high yield with a fixed monthly dividend and an annual yield of approximately 7.8%, while also providing growth potential from leading global tech companies [1] - Unbiased Alpha is a Swiss Fintech startup that consults institutional investors globally in Quantitative Trading and Systematic Strategies, focusing on software solutions, cloud services, and API-based data science algorithms [1] - The company specializes in statistical arbitrage, systematic strategies, and innovative machine learning algorithms, with a research focus on various asset classes including stocks, ETFs, FX, commodities, and cryptocurrencies [1]

Company Overview - Unbiased Alpha is a Swiss Fintech startup that provides consulting services to institutional investors globally, focusing on Quantitative Trading and Systematic Strategies [2] - The company develops software solutions, cloud services, and API-based data science algorithms, emphasizing investing and trading [2] - Unbiased Alpha has experience managing over $1 billion in assets under management (AuM) in small teams, specializing in statistical arbitrage and innovative machine learning algorithms [2] Research Focus - The research conducted by Unbiased Alpha spans various asset classes and instruments, with a primary focus on stocks, ETFs, foreign exchange (FX), commodities, and cryptocurrencies [2] - The company also monitors hedge funds and utilizes machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantitative research in its strategies [2]