On March 29, BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK)’s CEO, Larry Fink, published an investor letter in which he shared his thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic and BlackRock’s response. The implications of the coronavirus pandemic for every nation and for BlackRock’s clients, employees and shareholders are profound, and they will reverberate for years to come. Mr. Fink also added that the recent sell-off created an attractive opportunity to rebalance into equities. He said the firm’s main priorities are “ETFs, illiquid alternatives and technology (which) will drive BlackRock’s growth this decade”.
We share the part of it that covers how the Black Rock should perform in coronavirus environment. You can also watch an interview below:
Mr. Fink explained to shareholders that he wrote his letter at home where he is working remotely due to COVID-19 precautions “like millions of other people,” including more than 90% of BlackRock’s 16,200 employees who also worked remotely in recent weeks. Mr. Fink told shareholders that he has never experienced an event like the COVID-19 outbreak during his 44-year tenure in the financial industry. “The outbreak has impacted financial markets with a swiftness and ferocity normally seen only in a classic financial crisis. In a matter of weeks, global equity benchmarks fell from record highs into a bear market”.
Despite this, Larry Fink said that he believes that the economy will recover steadily, in part because this situation lacks some of the obstacles to the recovery of a typical financial crisis. Central banks are moving quickly to address problems in credit markets, and governments are now acting aggressively to enact fiscal stimulus. Mr. Fink told shareholders in this letter that BlackRock is “serving and advising governments as they seek new ways to support the households, businesses and economies of their respective nations in this unprecedented situation.” BlackRock was selected to assist the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank of Canada “on programs designed to facilitate capital to businesses and support the economy”. The firm’s portfolio and relationship managers have been in close contact with clients through phone calls and video conferences, making sure that its clients are safe and healthy, that they have the information they need and get prompt answers to their urgent questions. BlackRock’s resilience is especially evident in times like these. The price of the stock has declined 14% since the beginning of the year, and although Mr. Fink is not happy with this performance, BlackRock is outperforming broader equity markets and the asset management industry.
If you haven’t already heard, Insider Monkey predicted this coronavirus recession in February and has been telling its premium subscribers to short the market and travel related stocks (see our first article). Later on we accurately predicted the number of deaths in the U.S. in this article. You can subscribe to our free email alerts on our website to get our next prediction before everyone else.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
