With several alternative asset managers seeing increased redemption claims for their private credit business development companies, BlackRock Inc. is highlighting strong institutional demand for the asset class.
In the asset manager’s Tuesday earnings call for the year’s first quarter, BlackRock executives noted that the asset class continues to attract strong demand from long-term institutional investors, while they downplayed woes related to private credit BDCs. During the first quarter, the firm reported an aggregate of $9 billion in net inflows, driven primarily by private credit and infrastructure.
BlackRock’s assets under management fell to $13.89 trillion in the first quarter, down from more than $14 trillion in Q4 2025. The firm’s assets are up year-over-year from $11.58 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
The firm reported earnings per share of $14.06 for the quarter, a 46% increase from the $9.64 it recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
“We’re not reliant on any one engine. We’re not reliant on any one product,” said BlackRock Chief Financial Officer Martin Small on the earnings call. “We may or may not go through a period of elevated redemptions relative to historical levels and more muted subscriptions in wealth channels for private credit funds. We don’t know for certain. We do see long-term demand for institutional-grade private credit as intact.”
In March, BlackRock restricted withdrawals from its HPS Corporate Lending Fund BDC after withdrawal requests hit 9.3%, exceeding the 5% redemption limit the fund had set at inception. Small, on the earnings call, highlighted that HLEND is “one of the best-performing non-traded BDCs in the market,” netting 10.4% annualized returns since its inception. BlackRock acquired the HLEND fund in its 2025 takeover of private credit specialist firm HPS Investment Partners.
BlackRock is one of many private credit managers that have restricted redemptions from private credit funds this year, including Blue Owl Capital, Carlyle, Apollo Global Management, Barings, Cliffwater and Ares Management Corp. These semi-liquid funds often have quarterly redemption limits of 5% of the total fund. Redemption requests in the first quarter of 2025 have ranged between nearly 10% and 40%, according to data reported by Bloomberg. The same data showed that requests as high as 8% to 10% have been met. Most above that level are unmet.
“HLEND’s intentionally designed liquidity framework, specifically the recurring 5% quarterly share repurchase feature, is foundational to enabling these return outcomes.” BlackRock stated in a letter following the first quarter redemptions that exceeded the fund’s 5% limit. “Without it, there would be astructural mismatch between investor capital and the expected duration of the private credit loans in which HLEND invests.”
BlackRock CEO and Chair Larry Fink, during the earnings call, noted institutional client demand for private credit is continuing to grow, particularly from insurance companies.
“This quarter, we signed a multi-billion-dollar rotation into a high-grade private credit from an existing insurance client,” Fink said. “We have a multi-billion notified insurance pipeline for a similar mandate.”
The firm managed $210 billion in private credit assets as of Q1 2026, largely from the HPS acquisition. In the first quarter of 2025, BlackRock reported $20 billion in private credit assets under management.
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Tags: BlackRock, Private Credit