BlackRock has surpassed $14 trillion in assets under management for the first time, following a record quarter that capped off its strongest year of client inflows on record.

The world’s largest asset manager attracted $342 billion of net inflows in the final quarter of 2025 alone, well ahead of market expectations. Over the full year, clients committed almost $700 billion to BlackRock’s funds and investment platforms.

The surge was driven primarily by strong demand for the firm’s equity and fixed-income products, alongside rising global markets. A rally in stock prices added a further $265 billion to the value of assets managed by the firm, helping push total assets beyond the $13.9 trillion analysts had forecast.

Chief executive Larry Fink said the company was entering 2026 with “accelerating momentum” across its entire platform, following the strongest quarter and year of inflows in BlackRock’s history.

Exchange-traded funds remained a major growth engine. BlackRock’s equity ETF business attracted $123 billion of inflows during the quarter, lifting the franchise above $4 trillion in assets for the first time. Fixed-income ETFs brought in an additional $52 billion, more than offsetting modest withdrawals from some actively managed equity strategies.

Growth was also supported by a major outsourcing mandate, with BlackRock taking over the management of around $80 billion of assets for Citigroup’s wealthiest clients — one of the largest such mandates seen in recent years.

At the same time, BlackRock continued to build momentum in private markets, an area it has increasingly prioritised as it seeks higher-margin growth. Its private credit business drew in $7.2 billion during the quarter, while infrastructure investments attracted close to $5 billion.

The company is in the midst of a broader strategic shift beyond traditional index investing, having spent close to $30 billion over the past two years acquiring Global Infrastructure Partners, HPS Investment Partners and data provider Preqin. These businesses allow BlackRock to offer higher-fee products, including private credit and infrastructure funds.

Financially, BlackRock reported a 23% increase in quarterly revenue to $7 billion, bringing full-year revenue to $24.2 billion. Net profit fell in the quarter due to higher staff compensation and costs linked to recent acquisitions. Shares in the company rose more than 5% in New York trading following the results.