$130 billion flowed into BlackRock’s iShares as passive investing deepens its hold on markets

Investors poured $130 billion into BlackRock during Q1 2026, mostly through its iShares ETF platform, as passive investing continues to pull money from traditional strategies. That influx pushed the firm's total assets under management to $13.89 trillion, up from $11.58 trillion a year earlier. BlackRock posted $2.21 billion in profit for the quarter, beating analyst expectations, powered by higher performance fees and the scale of its index-linked offerings. Performance fees reached $272 million, while private market assets dipped slightly to $320.4 billion. The inflows occurred even as the S&P 500 fell nearly 5%, underscoring that investor demand is shifting decisively toward low-cost, rules-based exposure — not market direction. $130 billion in net inflows signals a structural preference for passive management over active strategies.