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BlackRock began in 1988 with eight people in a single room who shared a determination to put clients’ needs and interests first. Our founders believed they could manage assets in a way that was better for their clients – by utilizing their passion for understanding and managing risk. This is the way the firm continues to be managed today.

Recognizing the opportunity to bring transparency, scale and innovation to risk management for the broader industry, BlackRock begins to sell its proprietary technology, Aladdin. This technology, integral to who we are as a firm, is embedded in everything we do, thus differentiating us as an investment and risk manager.

BlackRock makes its Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange on October 1st, for $14 a share. By the end of that year, the firm had $165 billion in assets under management due to its strengthening relationships with global institutions.

BlackRock founds BlackRock Solutions, with Aladdin as the basis for the business. This marked the beginning of BlackRock’s role as a technology provider.

BlackRock acquires Merrill Lynch Investment Management, expanding its retail and international presence.

Amidst the financial crisis, the Head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York asks BlackRock to analyze Bear Stearns' mortgage-backed securities assets and determine their value. BlackRock plays a key advisory role to institutions across the globe seeking to navigate the financial crisis.

BlackRock acquires Barclay's Global Investors (BGI), becoming the world's largest asset manager, with employees in 24 countries. With this acquisition, BlackRock makes the unprecedented move of bringing alpha and index strategies under one roof to provide a wider breadth of solutions for its clients.

BlackRock launches iShares Core to provide investors with broad stock and bond market exposure at the foundation of their portfolios in a low-cost and tax-efficient way.

Given the changing wealth management landscape, BlackRock focuses on providing portfolio construction expertise to financial advisors by leveraging our diverse platform and portfolio construction technology. Aladdin Wealth, which benefits from the same data and risk capabilities used by our own investment teams, is sold to our first wealth management client.

BlackRock further increases our commitment to Investment Stewardship, emphasizing the importance of purpose to long-term profitability. Through this work and the overall dedication to Investment Stewardship over the past seven years, we go beyond proxy voting to engage with companies to drive long-term, sustainable financial performance and ultimately the value of our clients’ assets.

BlackRock launches its first AI Lab in Palo Alto to accelerate its use of artificial intelligence and associated disciplines – machine learning, data science, natural language processing – to improve outcomes and drive progress for investors, clients and the firm.

BlackRock further focuses its role in the retirement crisis, launching BlackRock Retirement Solutions Group. With two thirds of the assets we manage related to retirement, this new initiative was formed to explore innovative solutions to the most pressing retirement challenges. BlackRock acquires eFront, the world’s leading provider of end-to-end alternative investment management software and solutions, to accelerate our ambition to make alternatives less alternative and enable a whole portfolio approach. The acquisition establishes a new standard for investment and risk management technology, enabling investors to seamlessly manage portfolios across public and private asset classes on a single platform.