Larry Fink Larry Fink, ceo of BlackRock, was named fund leader of the year on Thursday night by FA at the 15th Annual Mutual Fund Awards. At a time when fund firms are being punished for investing in subprime mortgage-backed and other unproven securities, BlackRock has made it through these markets with minimal damage. Fink has become the go-to doctor for credit-crunch casualties. Analysts say that Fink, who helped build the mortgage-backed bond market in the 1980s, instills a conservative investment style at BlackRock which clients are especially thankful for in rough markets.
Larry Fink
The demand for Fink's services are a testament to his skill: in the past few months Florida's State Board of Administration enlisted BlackRock's expertise, the banking community asked BlackRock to manage the proposed Super SIV fund and Merrill Lynch reportedly considered Fink for its ceo post.
Katherine Yang, analyst at Morningstar, said Fink has been a pioneer in his field since the 1980s. "That's evident in BlackRock's strength in the fixed-income arena," she said.
Aside from protecting it from disaster, Fink is also leading BlackRock into new territory. The firm's global client base continues to grow, as exemplified by its new joint venture with Bank of China. BlackRock is phasing out the Merrill Lynch name on its foreign offerings as its own brand gains respect around the globe. "The platform of BlackRock is coming together worldwide," Fink has said. --Jacob Daniels For full coverage of the 15th Annual Mutual Fund Awards, please click here.