BlackRock – the world’s largest fund manager – increased its marketing spend in the first quarter of 2024 by 10.8% on the previous three-month period.
It spent $82 million on marketing and promotional activities during the first three months of the year, $8 million more than the $74 million it spent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The increase in spend comes as the company looks to increase its presence in the alternatives space where there exists the potential for higher margins. At the start of 2024, the company announced a deal to acquire alternatives manager Global Infrastructure Partners.
The fund group – led by chairman and chief executive officer, Larry Fink – is also basking in the success of its Bitcoin exchange trade fund, which witnessed inflows of US $15 billion since its launch in January.
“Clients are turning to BlackRock to unlock the full potential of their portfolios,” he said. “Being a growth company requires our continual innovation, investment, and client focus.
“BlackRock has stayed connected with our clients and invested in our platform over years, in anticipation of clients’ evolving needs.”
In a statement, Fink said that the company’s momentum is continuing to build.
“Through this connectivity, we are having richer conversations with clients than ever before about their whole portfolio and in many cases deepening our relationships with them.
“We see significant growth potential in infrastructure, technology, retirement and whole portfolio solutions, with a strong pipeline that has some of the best breadth that we’ve ever seen.”