BlackRock reported a net profit of USD 2.21 billion, or USD 14.06 per share, for the quarter. Its adjusted earnings were USD 12.53 a share, topping analysts’ ⁠expectations by 99 cents. Assets Under Management (AUM) stood at USD 13.89 trillion, up from USD 11.58 trillion a year earlier.

Investment advisory performance fees reached USD 272 million in the first quarter, a significant spike above USD 60 million in the same period in 2025. However, the world’s largest asset manager has a headache to deal with: its stock value is down over 2% in 2026, lagging behind its smaller rival, State Street.

Investors have closely monitored the health of BlackRock’s investments in private credit, an industry that has attracted large amounts of investor capital in recent years but has recently experienced significant outflows from some managers. The 2025 bankruptcies of US auto parts supplier First Brands and car dealership Tricolour highlighted the risks in a sector criticised for a lack of transparency.

BlackRock had USD 320.4 billion in assets in its private markets business in the first quarter, down from USD 322.6 billion at the end of 2025. The figures also included USD 9.1 billion in net inflows and USD 8.5 billion of returns of capital, along with a USD 2 billion drop in market values.

As per CEO Larry Fink, demand for private credit products has remained “structural,” reflecting the retreat of banks from some markets following the 2008 financial crisis and increasing global debt figures.

“While retail investors have pulled back from some private credit funds, institutional demand is accelerating,” Larry Fink said, as the higher returns and low leverage ⁠of private credit offerings have made these entities (the funds) a core part of how investors build portfolios.

“The wider spreads in the market point to shifting short-term sentiment that may create challenges for some providers, a situation that favours BlackRock competitively,” Larry Fink concluded.

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Sara Naison-Tarajano, a 27-year veteran of the firm, most recently served as Global Head of Private Wealth Management (PWM) Capital Markets and Global Head of Goldman Sachs Apex, the firm’s dedicated family office business. Her appointment underscores Goldman Sachs’ commitment to grow its premier wealth management platform and the firm’s differentiated ability to harness One Goldman Sachs to serve clients. She replaces David Fox, who will retire after 27 years with Goldman.

Founded in 1971 and acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2003, Ayco works with many of the world’s largest companies to provide financial wellness programmes and executive counselling. The venture’s services include investment management, financial planning, tax preparation, and estate coordination, delivered through a team of experienced professionals dedicated to helping clients optimise their financial lives.

Sara Naison-Tarajano joined Goldman as an analyst in the investment banking division in 1999. She became a managing director at a global investment giant in 2012. In 2020, she was promoted to partner.

Discussing Ayco, along with BNY Pershing, the company will enter the client custodial referral market, a space previously dominated by Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments, thereby challenging the latter’s position in the sector.

BNY Pershing’s programme will be launched later in 2026 under the name “BNY Advisor Match Service.” It will provide “one or two” advisor referrals to clients upon request based on criteria set up by the custodian, according to the venture’s market filing.

Goldman Sachs Ayco, on the other hand, has already started a referral programme with Creative Planning, Mercer Advisors and Wealth Enhancement, according to the registered investment advisors, which are also among the largest in the United States.

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Ben Powell, Chief Strategist for Middle East and Asia Pacific at the BlackRock Investment Institute, told Zawya that the world’s largest asset manager was “very open-minded” about co-investment opportunities with SWFs in the region.

“We are driven by opportunity, and as the world’s largest investor, we see an advantage over many of our competitors in terms of reach and scale. So, we are very open-minded about increasing our focus on Asian markets. As many know, the India bull story is very real, and we want to be a part of this, be it through co-investments or joint ventures from the region,” Powell told Zawya on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW).

With USD 13.52 trillion in assets under management (AUM), BlackRock has expanded its network in the Gulf region over the past two years with the set-up of its regional headquarters in Riyadh in 2023, following the launch of an investment platform with the help of a USD 5 billion anchor investment from the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). In 2024, the Larry Fink-backed fund manager was granted a commercial license to operate in Abu Dhabi, and since then, the venture has expanded its headcount in Riyadh and Dubai, along with opening offices in Kuwait and Qatar.

“The UAE and Saudi Arabia are at the core of deepening the importance of capital markets in the region, and it is increasingly clear the regulatory efforts are very strong in establishing these places as a regional hub, and maybe in time, as a global hub for capital,” Powell remarked.

BlackRock is already looking to double its investments in the Gulf country by 2030, with current investments in the Kingdom standing at USD 35 billion, as the administration accelerates its socio-economic diversification under the ambitious “Vision 2030” agenda.

BlackRock’s 2026 outlook for the Gulf region calls for a push for investments in domains like artificial intelligence (AI) and infrastructure development. While energy remained an important sector in the Middle East for now, Powell said the AI “mega boom” will continue to gather momentum in the coming years. In 2024, BlackRock partnered with Microsoft and launched a USD 30 billion fund to invest in AI infrastructures such as data centres and energy projects. As per the stakeholders, the partnership will likely mobilise up to USD 100 billion in total investment potential, including debt financing.

According to Powell, there is increased potential in tech firms tapping into capital markets to fund the next phase of AI expansion, with a specialised focus on the build-out, as the latter is going to be necessary to help more individuals and companies drive productivity gains.

“This is where the money is flowing and will build up to be a mainstream asset class over the next few years,” the senior official concluded.

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The findings demonstrate PIF’s growing contribution to Saudi Arabia’s economic development and the formation of international markets.

The total amount invested in priority sectors since 2021 has surpassed USD 171 billion, with USD 56.8 billion allocated in 2024 alone. Since 2017, the fund has seen an average annual return of 7.2% for its entire portfolio, and its cash position has remained relatively stable, indicating strong liquidity.

PIF contributed USD 243 billion to the Kingdom’s non-oil GDP between 2021 and 2024, which accounted for 10% of the country’s non-oil GDP. By the end of 2024, the fund will have established 103 businesses, increasing its portfolio to 225 companies. It also promotes innovation, localisation, and strategic sectors. Partnerships were one of the major milestones in 2024.

PIF raised USD 16.83 billion in public and private debt while obtaining credit rating upgrades from Moody’s and Fitch, further broadening its global investment footprint. With a score of 96% on Global SWF’s 2024 GSR Scoreboard and a tie for first place worldwide in 2025 with a score of 100%, governance performance also achieved a significant milestone.

Additionally, PIF saw significant brand growth; in 2024, Brand Finance named it the most valuable and rapidly expanding sovereign wealth fund brand globally.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has reduced the value of its investments in the Kingdom’s megaprojects, such as its flagship development Neom, by USD 8 billion as lower oil prices and budget overruns impede efforts to revamp the domestic economy.

The Public Investment Fund, the primary force behind Saudi Arabia’s efforts to transform its economy, reported that at the end of 2024, its investments in Saudi mega projects were valued at USD 56 billion (SR 211 billion), a 12% decrease from the previous year. The amount of the write-down is USD 8 billion.

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While addressing the financial needs of the institutional investors, qualified investors and distribution channels, TEB follows a ‘Careful Investment Approach’, where detailed investment procedure, combined with the venture’s Turkish market expertise, its in-house research department, up-to-date database and international risk management standards all come into the play.

The synergy TEB has with BNP Paribas Asset Management, one of Europe’s leading asset managers, has continued to accelerate its progress in becoming a strong local player, supported by a successful global partner, and by the end of 2022 Assets Under Management had risen to USD 2.48 billion.

In 2021, TEB Asset Management witnessed a net profit of USD 1.4 million and USD 1.7 billion USD AuM (Assets Under Management), with a market share of 2.66% in mutual funds and 5.63% in pension funds. By the end of August 2022, the profit ratio had reached the USD 1.9 billion mark.

“As TEB Asset Management, we believe that Turkey offers above-average return opportunities because it is a developing market. We believe that these opportunities can be revealed and significant relative returns can be created with an active portfolio management that understands global and local market dynamics, deep market experience and a disciplined investment process,” remarked the venture, while explaining its investment philosophy.

Apart from portfolio management, TEB Asset Management provides tailored mutual funds solutions like ‘Thematic Funds’, ‘Money Market Funds’, ‘Precious Metal Funds’, ‘Hedge Funds’, ‘Term Hedge Funds’ and ‘Stock Funds’, apart from extending its services in the fields of ‘Pension Funds’ and ‘Foreign Investment Funds’.

A Renewed Focus On The ESG Front

TEB Asset Management has a strong focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) principles within its investment strategies, including gender diversity. In 2023, the venture also launched a “women-first-themed” fund, focused on gender equality and equal representation in professional life.

TEB has now launched a fund to address the social aspect of its commitment to ESG, in collaboration with a local university, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi.

According to TEB AM CEO Yağız Oral, the women-first-themed fund aims to support economic and social development by strengthening gender equality and equal representation in professional life.

“We aspire to transform the investment ecosystem towards the goal of equality & inclusion by encouraging companies to contribute to a holistic framework of social development. We believe investing in a mutual fund that prioritises gender equality can promote diversity and fairness in corporate leadership, ultimately leading to better financial performance and societal progress,” Yağız Oral said.

Talking about TEB, in 2021, it launched a sustainability fund of funds. The initiative has emerged as one of the thematic funds launched by the venture during the past three years to meet investor needs as the mutual fund landscape evolves. Themes include the metaverse and digital technology, agriculture and food technology, healthcare and biotechnology and precious metals.

Yağız Oral mentioned further, “We continuously search for new ideas to keep up with the changing world and we keep a close eye on investor needs. One of the most important points that differentiates us from our peers is the strength of our relationship with BNPP AM’s global teams, meaning that we can take advantage of them, enabling us to invest in a wide range of products globally. Our rigorous investment approach combines international standards with in-house research, local expertise, and global cooperation and risk procedures.”

Overall, TEB AM has recognised the growing importance of ESG in the investment landscape and of incorporating sustainability in its investment philosophy. By doing so, it is able to provide investors with the solutions they need to achieve their financial goals while prioritising their values and beliefs.

“By incorporating ESG principles into our investment strategies, we aim to meet the growing demand for sustainable investing options and create long-term value for our clients. As the asset management sector continues to evolve, we remain committed to meeting the changing needs of investors and ensuring that our clients can invest with confidence in a rapidly transforming world,” Yağız Oral concluded.

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Goldman Sachs has already begun to hire private bankers to manage assets worth $9 billion. It is reported that clients will have to invest at least 1 billion yen in the bank.

Japan has the third-largest number of millennials after the US and China, based on Credit Suisse’s 2019 Global Wealth Report. The bank’s targeted clients will largely be part of portfolio management firms.

Several upscale foreign banks including HSBC and Citi have withdrawn business from the Japanese market earlier. Even UBS has agreed to merge its Japanese wealth operation into a majority-owned joint venture with Sumitomo Mitsui in 2021, the media reported. The Japanese market serving affluent customers is considered tough to crack over the years.

However, Credit Suisse is reported to have established a strong asset management base in Japan, while Nomura Bank is focused on retail investment.

Currently, Japan holds a 1 percent market share in the overall wealth business but has risen to 7 percent in the ultra-wealthy market. In 2018, Goldman Sachs was ranked ninth among wealth managers in Asia excluding China, according to Asian Private Banker.

Goldman Sachs is strengthening its focus on wealth management and consumer banking to diversify its revenue away from trading, the media reported. The move is initiated under the leadership of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.

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A media report said that the bank also wants to double the count of its wealth relationship managers to 70 by the same period. The bank’s relationship managers are the single point of contact for clients. 

Singapore’s DBS Private Bank has been operating its Thai wealth business for 20 years through its wholly-owned subsidiary DBS Vickers Securities (Thailand). DBS Vickers Securities offers onshore wealth management services comprising funds, equities, structured notes and bonds to clients in the country. 

Sim S Lim, DBS Bank group head of wealth management and consumer banking, told the media, “We believe the Thai wealth market holds immense potential, having witnessed Thai investors’ growing sophistication and receptiveness to investment ideas, and the Bank of Thailand’s encouraging regulatory stance towards offshore investments.” 

Thailand is becoming an attractive market for private banks. DBS said that Thailand has at least 122,000 high-net worth individuals — nearly equal to the count in Singapore. However, the high-net worth individuals in the country are somewhat conservative with offshore investments. 

Other wealth managers have also started to explore Thailand’s rich landscape to offer onshore services. In February, LGT setup a subsidiary known as LGT Securities (Thailand) to offer wealth management services. LGT is the world’s largest private banking and asset management group. 

More recently, DBS Vickers Securities has agreed to transfer its offline retail securities brokerage business to UOB Kay Hian by October end, media reports said. 

UOB Kay Hian is one of Asia’s largest brokerage companies. 

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Market commentators have predicted the growing market for asset lending could ‘explode’ in 2019, as fund managers and banks seek new revenue streams amid rising costs and a global squeeze on profits.

End-of-year reports this month are expected to reveal that asset managers and banks made $10bn through securities lending, the practice of lending out stocks, bonds and ETFs in exchange for lending revenue.

Financial markets are enduring their worst year in a decade—but it’s not all doom and gloom. Whether you’re a global institution looking for alpha in a low-yield, high-cost environment, or a family office seeking a simple way to improve returns, securities lending is becoming an increasingly attractive option. Revenues have already returned to the highest levels in a decade—and we could see it explode into the mainstream as a go-to tactic among investors next year.”

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February 8, 2016: Grupo Aval is Colombia and Central America’s largest financial conglomerate; it operates in 12 countries, serving more than 13 million banking customers and 11 million pension and severance fund affiliates. It consolidates more than $68 billion in assets, with over $128 billion in assets under management. Grupo Aval posted a net income of $592 million in the last 12 months (LTM) ended on September 2015. Furthermore, the company has posted strong growth and profitability metrics, as evidenced by a compound annual growth rate of more than 20%[1] and a solid return on average equity currently standing at 13.5% (LTM).

Its current position within the markets it operates is the result of both the vision of Mr. Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo, founder, Chairman of the Board and majority shareholder of the group, and the leadership skills and tenacity of Mr. Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez, CEO and President of Grupo Aval, who has led Aval into the international arena and who now leads the innovation strategy for the group, a key area of future success as traditional banking is being redefined and as the needs of the clients have to be met in diverse ways.

Grupo Aval consolidates four commercial banks in Colombia (Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular and Banco AV Villas); one bank in Central America: Banco de America Central (BAC) Credomatic with presence in Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras; the largest private pension and severance fund manager (Porvenir); and the largest merchant bank (Corficolombiana), both in Colombia.

Grupo Aval operates through a multi-brand banking model that allows maximum penetration and profitability. Banco de Bogotá is a full-service bank with nationwide coverage and focuses on commercial lending; Banco de Occidente focuses on mid-market and affluent segments and has a leading presence in the southwest region of Colombia and in niche products, such as auto loans and leasing.

Banco Popular is the market leader in payroll loans and is the leading provider of financial solutions to government entities across Colombia; and finally, Banco AV Villas is a consumer-focused bank and targets mid-income segments of the population.

As of September 2015, Grupo Aval´s banks in Colombia held a 30% market share of loans and a 34% market share of net income and served more than 10 million banking clients through its 1,397 branches and 3,775 ATMs.

Grupo Aval’s merchant bank Corficolombiana holds investments in various sectors, such as energy and gas, infrastructure, agro-industrial and hospitality, among others. The company focuses mainly on two areas: infrastructure projects and energy. In infrastructure, Corficolombiana stands out as the largest concessionaire in the country, while in energy, it consolidates the largest gas pipeline in Colombia.

Grupo Aval´s Private Pension Fund Manager, Porvenir, is the largest private pension and severance fund manager in Colombia and holds close to 50% of market share in each category. Porvenir has 7.1 million affiliates in the mandatory pension fund, 3.8 million affiliates in the severance fund and 169 thousand affiliates in the voluntary pension fund.

Grupo Aval will continue to benefit from its scale and leadership position in Colombia as growth expectations in the country are amongst the strongest in the region despite the economic difficulties resulting from the drastic drop in oil prices and its implications on government revenues.

One of the main drivers of marginal GDP growth in the coming years in Colombia is the 4^th generation concession program. This program includes the construction of more than 3,000 km of new roads and will demand at least $15 billion of capital investments. The program is expected to contribute with more than 100 pbs of GDP each year in the coming years and will increase the competitiveness of the country as it will decrease the transportation in a material form.

Grupo Aval will take part in the 4^th generation concession program in two ways. On the one hand, it expects to participate, with its natural market share and through its four banks, providing funds to the constructors who were granted the concessions. On the other hand, it will participate as an equity investor through Corficolombiana, which has already been granted three concessions, which involve the construction of 366 kilometres of roads and will require demand CAPEX of approximately $2 billion.

Aside from a positive mid-term GDP scenario, banking penetration will continue to favour financial institutions in Colombia. Measured as total loans to nominal gross domestic product (GDP), banking penetration stands below 50% suggesting that loan growth can continue to outpace that of the economy. Furthermore, the country’s middle-income class is expected to continue to expand and unemployment is expected to improve in the mid-term, both positive for the financial industry.

On top of the Colombian story, new foreign winds are boosting the size and profitability of Grupo Aval thanks to a decision taken five years ago to diversify risks and sources of revenue. Back in 2010, Mr. Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez decided to start the internationalisation process of Grupo Aval with the acquisition of BAC Credomatic, the leading and most profitable regional banking group in Central America with operations in six countries.

Central America, as a region, presented vast opportunities because of its size, low banking penetration and high returns. Having close ties to the United States, the region’s economy is expected to grow more than Colombia both in 2015 and 2016. Furthermore, being a net importer of oil the region has benefited from the decline in oil prices that affected Colombia negatively. From a macroeconomic standpoint the diversification option taken by Aval has proven to be successful.

Aside from the culture similarities, BAC Credomatic turned out to be the perfect fit for Grupo Aval. Led with solid corporate governance standards and similar risk and reporting models, BAC started to generate synergies almost immediately after the acquisition. Between 2010 and 2014, Grupo Aval was able to double the size of the bank in Central America and double its net income. It now serves more than 3 million clients in those six countries (on top of the 10 million it serves in Colombia), through 356 full-service branches and 1,736 ATMs.

Cross synergies include best in class credit card operations imported to Colombia and solid corporate banking practices exported to Central America. With room for further improvement, returns should remain strong over the coming years.

The internationalisation process of Grupo Aval has surpassed the M&A field. In 2012, Grupo Aval entered the debt capital markets when it issued two Reg S/144A senior bonds, and in 2014 it entered the equity capital markets when it issued fully registered ADRs in the NYSE.

The last five years have been transformational for this group and new projects are already on their way. Materialisation of further synergies among its Colombian and Central American subsidiaries and investments on innovation are on top of Mr. Sarmiento´s to-do list. Aside from this, the group will remain true to its core principles and continue to look for growth opportunities in close-by markets where it can achieve a dominant position with sizable market share.

To be noted

[1] Compound annual growth rate for the last 5 years

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