Company cuts CEO Larry Fink's pay by 30%
Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink's total remuneration from BlackRock Inc. was decreased by 30% from the prior year to $25.2 million for 2022. In addition to his $1.5 million basic income, Fink got $3.75 million in deferred stock, $7.25 million in cash incentives, and $12.7 million in long-term incentive awards.
“With respect to 2022 compensation, management determined to reduce the impact of the firm’s decline in profitability on BlackRock’s broader employee population by concentrating the downward adjustments to total incentive awards toward senior management,” the New York-based money manager said in the filing.
According to the disclosure, five of the top executives at BlackRock last year all had their salary decreased by at least 27%.
- Larry Fink, CEO - $25.2 million (30%)
- Rob Kapito, President - $18.95 million (34%)
- Rob Goldstein, COO - $9.8 million (27%)
- Rich Kushel, Director of Portfolio Management - $7.65 million (35%)
- Gary Shedlin, former CFO - $6.9 million (29%)
The world's largest asset manager struggled last year as a result of the U.S. market crash, recession worries, and increasing interest rates.
From a record high above $10 trillion a year earlier, BlackRock's assets under management decreased 14% to $8.6 trillion on December 31. Shares had fallen 2.4% this year. However, since mid-March, they have been increasing again, and the stock climbed 1% on Monday.
Over $300 billion in net inflows were made to BlackRock in 2022 as it continued to draw in fresh capital. Clients added a net $110 billion to BlackRock products in the first quarter of this year, including to its bond ETFs and cash-management plans. After weeks of market turbulence following the failure of three US banks, its assets under management soared to $9.09 trillion at the conclusion of the period.
Gains are probably going to keep coming in. BlackRock's price objective been increased by Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Cyprys to $861, the second highest among the analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
In order to achieve organic asset growth of 5% per year over the following three years, Cyprys has identified four "growth zones" for the company, including fixed income, cash management, private markets, and Aladdin, its investment-management technology platform. Over the next three years, these growth zones are anticipated to provide 5% annual organic asset growth.
“BlackRock’s scale, diversification, disciplined investments made across market cycles and efficient operations with focus on expenses should support continued organic growth and margin expansion,” Cyprys wrote in a note.
According to the analyst, BlackRock's assets under management will increase from their current $9 trillion level to $10 trillion over the following several quarters, ultimately exceeding $15 trillion in five years.
