Wealth and Asset Units for BlackRock, Goldman and More Shine in Q3

Let the good times roll.

Some of Wall Street’s biggest names, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and others, delivered another round of stellar earnings this week, supported by strong revenues in their wealth and asset management divisions. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, reported a record $13.5 trillion in assets, up 17% year-over-year. Much of the growth came from its expansion into private markets, particularly its acquisition of HPS Investment Partners, which added $165 billion of client AUM and $118 billion in fee-paying assets. Investor enthusiasm for ETFs also played a role, with iShares funds bringing in $153 billion in net inflows in Q3. 

“The scale of the opportunity ahead far exceeds what we’ve ever seen before,” CEO Larry Fink said in a statement.

Deal the Cards

Goldman Sachs also impressed, as its asset and wealth management fees rose 17% to $4.4 billion, marking the segment’s first quarterly increase this year. The investment bank also announced the acquisition of venture capital firm Industry Ventures this week, a move CEO David Solomon said would strengthen its relationships with ultra-high-net-worth clients. 

Overall, the firm reported $15 billion in net revenues, partially driven by a surge in M&A volumes. It also advised on $1 trillion in announced deals this year, including Electronic Arts’ $55 billion sale to private equity firms and Saudi Arabia’s PIF, and Fifth Third Bancorp’s $10.9 billion purchase of Comerica. 

Wirehouse Winning Streak

Not to be outdone, Bank of America’s wealth unit, which includes Merrill Lynch and BofA Private Bank, reported about $1.3 billion, up 19% from last year. Wells Fargo’s wealth and investment management unit reported net income of $591 million, a 12% increase year over year. And, Morgan Stanley’s wealth unit reported record revenue of $8.2 billion, up 13% over the same time last year, bolstered by asset management and transactional revenue.

Other big wealth management firms also saw success in Q3:

• Citigroup, whose wealth unit is a key component of the firm’s turnaround efforts, reported $18.6 billion in new investment assets, up from $13.8 billion this time last year.
• JPMorgan’s client assets reached $1.2 trillion, up 15% from Q3 2024. Also, the firm’s advisor headcount topped 6,000.

Know When to Fold ‘Em. Leave it to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to always pull us back down to earth. Dimon said Tuesday that despite the economy being fairly resilient, there continues to be “a heightened degree of uncertainty” due to complex geopolitical conditions, tariffs, sticky inflation, elevated asset prices and trade issues. Similarly, JPMorgan Asset Management Chief Global Strategist David Kelly warned in a note that the country is “going broke” because of rising federal debt.

Granted, he did say we were “slowly” going broke.