BlackRock's 3Q Profit Falls 8%

BlackRock  said profit in its latest quarter slid, as the world's biggest money manager generated lower fees in its exchange-traded fund business and faced a higher tax rate. Still, results surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The New York firm saw $50 billion in inflows during the third quarter, including long-term net inflows of $35 billion, amid what Chief Executive Laurence Fink called challenging market conditions. But total long-term assets under management edged slightly lower to $4.21 trillion from $4.22 trillion a year earlier and fell from $4.44 trillion in the second quarter. At BlackRock, the dollar's rise has cut fees from clients paying in weaker foreign currencies. BlackRock reported $23 billion of net inflows into its higher-fee iShares products, driven by demand for fixed income offerings, though fees from that segment slipped 2.6% from a year earlier. In its iShares division, which makes up about a quarter of assets under management, the firm offers exchange-traded funds, or securities that trade on an exchange and typically track an index or other basket of assets. Increases in retail and active fees helped to partially offset the decline iShares fees. In all, BlackRock reported a profit of $843 million, down from $917 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings fell to $5 from $5.37. Revenue increased 2.1% to $2.91 billion. Analysts, according to Thomson Reuters, anticipated $4.57 in per-share profit on $2.82 billion in revenue. The firm's tax rate rose to 29.3% from 26.2% a year earlier. BlackRock shares, down about 12% this year, were inactive premarket. Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com