BlackRock - Money-Management King

More consolidation is taking place in the global economy. A hungry BlackRock is acquiring Barclays Global Investors, making it the largest money manager in the world. Its assets will be staggering, surpassing that of the US Federal Reserve. Such a heavy concentration of assets should be worrying, though few are registering concerns as yet.

A piece by Karen Weise, from ProPublica (Jun 12, 2009) documents the move:

BlackRock is forking out $13.5 billion to buy Barclays Global Investors, forming the largest money manager in the world, reports Bloomberg News. The acquisition means BlackRock will manage $2.7 trillion in assets—more than the Federal Reserve.

BlackRock has drawn scrutiny for the scope of its reach throughout federal bailout programs; it helps manage many of the Treasury Department’s big investments, like AIG, the New York Times reported last month. In addition, Blackrock announced in March that it would participate in the government’s toxic-asset program as a private investor. (A BlackRock managing director told the Times that the company is very sensitive to potential conflicts of interest.)