BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has seen its technology business post record figures in its recently published results.

Aladdin, the firm’s portfolio management system, brought in record net new sales in 2022, while technology services revenue in Q4 rose by 4%.

The success of the tech division comes on the back of a challenging time for large asset managers such as BlackRock, which reported an 8% decline in overall profit for the year and a $1.4 trillion loss in assets under management.

Fourth quarter performance also fell by 15% year-on-year to $4.3 billion, although this still beat analyst expectations.

In contrast, full-year technology revenue increased 7% to reach $1.4 billion, leading BlackRock’s chief financial officer Gardy Shedlin to say that “demand for our technology solutions has never been stronger”.

BlackRock also saw its outsourcing revenues increase in 2022, something which chairman Larry Fink believes will carry through to next year. “In an increasingly complex investment environment, we’re seeing strong demand from clients looking to partner with BlackRock for outsourced solutions and expect this to continue in 2023,” said Fink. 

The increase in new Aladdin customers will add further fuel to the debate over the wider impact of the platform's success. It is currently used by more than 200 institutions covering pension funds, asset managers, banks and corporates and managed more than $21.6 trillion in assets as of 2020.

Other asset managers have looked to replicate this success. For example, in 2020, Amundi launched its own technology services division.   

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