According to the Wall Street Journal, the world's largest money-manager isn't immune to fear in the bond market.
Investors pulled a net $1.5 billion from BlackRock Inc.'s fixed-income exchange-traded funds during the second quarter of the year through June 30, the company reported as part of its earnings release Thursday. The ETF business, branded iShares, saw total net outflows of $963 million, including outflows from bond funds, according to the company. BlackRock is the country's largest provider of ETFs, which typically track an index and trade on an exchange.
Institutional investors—pension funds and endowments—pulled a net $1.3 billion from fixed-income products during the quarter. BlackRock has total fixed-income assets of about $1.2 trillion.
BlackRock's chief executive and chairman Laurence D. Fink said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Thursday morning he wouldn't be surprised if 10-year Treasurys closed the year at a 3% yield, although he said rates would likely be tethered around 2.5% "for awhile." Bond yields rise when their prices fall.
Rather than a "great rotation" out of bonds, Mr. Fink said in his investor call that BlackRock is seeing its fixed-income investors move into bond funds that aren't tethered to an index, also known as unconstrained bond funds.
