This meeting was attended by several senior executives from BlackRock, including the Chairman and CEO, CFO, President, and General Counsel, to discuss the company's performance in the second quarter of 2025. The meeting highlighted the company's solid foundation in areas such as ETFs, Aladdin, total return fixed income, and cash management, as well as the business expansion in growth areas such as digital assets, active ETFs, model portfolios, and systematic solutions. Additionally, the meeting mentioned the public and private market investments and technology platforms built by the company through three significant acquisitions, and reported a 7% organic base fee growth in the past 12 months and over $650 billion in net inflows. The company has achieved four consecutive quarters of 5% or higher organic base fee growth, as well as double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue, operating profit, and earnings per share.

Blackstone Group achieved significant performance growth in the second quarter, with revenue reaching $5.4 billion, a 13% increase compared to the previous year. This was mainly attributed to organic growth, improved market performance, an increase in average assets under management, and growth in technology services and subscription revenue. Quarterly net profit and earnings per share increased by 12% and 16% respectively. Additionally, the group successfully completed the acquisition of HPS Investment Partners, adding $165 billion in client assets under management, with an expected contribution of approximately $450 million in revenue for the third quarter. The group also made significant progress in the technology and services sector, with technology revenue increasing by 26% and annual contract value growing by 32% year on year. Despite challenges from redemptions in low-fee institutional index funds, Blackstone Group still saw net inflows of $116 billion and plans to maintain profitability by controlling costs and focusing on organic growth. The group also anticipates low double-digit growth in core G&A (general and administrative) expenses by 2025.

Blackstone Group's capital management strategy primary objective is to invest in businesses to promote strategic growth or improve operational efficiency, while returning excess cash to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. Recently, Blackstone completed a transaction with Hps, issuing approximately 8.5 million locked-up subunits, and may issue more subunits in the next five years based on specific conditions and financial performance milestones. In addition, Blackstone repurchased $37.5 billion worth of common stock in the second quarter and plans to continue repurchasing at least the same amount in the remaining quarters. Meanwhile, Blackstone also made strategic investments, such as forming an alliance with Generation Life to develop investment solutions for Australian retirees, and planning to acquire Elmtree Funds, a real estate investment company with $7.3 billion in assets under management. In the second quarter, Blackstone Group achieved a net inflow of $68 billion, excluding outflows from low-fee institutional index assets.

Blackstone Group achieved net inflows of 116 billion in the second quarter, with 85 billion coming from ETFs, and over one-third from European clients. Fixed income led the inflows with 44 billion, while retail and institutional activities saw inflows of 20 billion and 70 billion respectively. Institutional indices saw net outflows of 48 billion, mainly due to a large redemption of 52 billion from a single client. Blackstone's cash asset management scale grew by 25% in one year, with net inflows of 22 billion in the second quarter. Through collaboration with GP prequel Hps, Blackstone has laid a foundation for future growth, demonstrating long-term growth potential in capital markets and rapid development of product channels.

Blackstone Group has long been committed to meeting the long-term needs and investment goals of a variety of customers around the world, from large asset owners to individual investors, by providing customized products and services to achieve this goal. By integrating active and passive investment strategies, especially through the acquisitions of BGI and iShares, the Group has achieved significant success over the past 15 years, with AUM growing from $300 billion to nearly $5 trillion. Building on this success, Blackstone is further expanding its business scope, integrating public and private markets to drive higher growth. In recent years, with the growing demand for digital assets, actively managed ETFs, systematic strategies, and customized SMAs, the trust and comprehensive relationships between Blackstone and its clients are driving broader opportunities.

Blackstone Group has enhanced its cooperation with top companies such as GP and HPS by strengthening its platform, thereby increasing its growth potential in the global market. The group is committed to providing integrated public and private market investment solutions, leveraging its extensive business scale and global coverage to offer comprehensive investment management, technology, and data services to clients of various sizes. Through continuous innovation and opportunities in the technology and data fields, Blackstone has achieved significant organic growth, especially in international markets such as India, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, making significant progress. The group's global influence and diversification strategy have driven its asset management scale to reach a historic high, demonstrating strong growth momentum and future potential.

Blackstone Group recently completed the acquisition of HBS Investment Partners, which will enhance its service capabilities in the private financing sector, especially in infrastructure investment and debt financing. Blackstone Group successfully raised a flagship infrastructure strategy fund of $25.2 billion, demonstrating clients' recognition of its long-term investment strategy. In addition, Blackstone is actively expanding its investments in retirement accounts, collaborating with Great Trust Company to provide customized target date funds, and assisting clients in the Netherlands with the transition from defined benefit to defined contribution. Through partnerships with JFS and Reliance in India, Blackstone is also dedicated to introducing more Indians to the global capital markets. The acquisition of Preco will further enhance Blackstone's transparency and analytical capabilities in the private market. In the public market sector, the iShares business continues to innovate, particularly in actively managed ETFs and digital assets products, bringing significant asset and client growth to the company.

Blackstone Group emphasizes its core businesses, including ETFs, Aladdin, and cash management, as the foundation of the company's growth engine and client relationships. After the financial crisis, many companies exited the cash business, but Blackstone recognizes that all clients need to hold cash, so it sees cash management as a point of deep cooperation with clients. Its cash asset management scale is close to $1 trillion, although it is not a direct retail or DTC bank. Blackstone utilizes technological innovation, especially in digital asset technology, to access traditional financial instruments such as government bonds, with its tokenized liquidity fund reaching $30 billion in assets under management. Additionally, Blackstone has successfully partnered with CERCLA and manages over $500 billion in stablecoin cash reserves, bringing significant returns to shareholders. Through its recent acquisition of HBS, Blackstone further strengthens its comprehensive platform, aiming to provide comprehensive financial services to more individuals, companies, governments, and regions, and drive the company into a new growth phase.

Michael shared the positive impact of recent acquisition projects, especially in the progress made in cooperating with insurance clients and in the field of wealth management. He mentioned that the opportunities in the insurance and wealth management sectors in Asia and other regions have exceeded expectations, with GP 5's performance surpassing target goals, and more positive announcements expected in the coming quarters. Additionally, he also discussed the attractiveness and expansion plans in the private market and multi-strategy areas, particularly in relation to wealth and retirement channels.

Blackstone Group announced that Tomasic Coware, an authoritative investor, has joined its investment team to raise $30 billion in equity and $100 billion in debt for large project investments. The group is collaborating closely with governments and companies worldwide, including governments of Europe, the United States, and Japan, as well as large technology companies (hyperscalers), to explore huge opportunities in infrastructure and public-private financing. In addition, Blackstone Group has successfully acquired all airports in Malaysia and is progressing with a port transaction with Hutchinson. This demonstrates the wide acceptance and growth potential of Blackstone in the private credit and infrastructure investment fields after the merger with GP, in stark contrast to the 2009 BGI transaction, highlighting Blackstone's successful history in integrating different cultures, organizations, and assets.

Blackstone Group sees continued growth opportunities in their collaboration with insurance companies in the private market, especially in wealth management. With the potential changes that DeFi (decentralized finance) may bring, these opportunities will further accelerate. Blackstone has a substantial presence in retirement asset management, with 50% of the assets they manage being retirement-related. They strengthen their relationship with retirement plans through innovative products like Lifepath paycheck. Additionally, in the face of high fiduciary requirements in markets like the US, Blackstone believes that data analysis and data will be key in wealth management, creating more opportunities. By integrating public and private markets and leveraging their robust data analysis capabilities, particularly through the acquisition of Prequel Side eFront, Blackstone believes they can provide deeper services to clients, further expanding their market opportunities.

The discussion focused on the bank's plan to introduce private capital into target date funds (TDFs) and the American 401(k) channel, including strategies and timelines. The questioner mentioned recent positive developments, such as the Great Gray Win news, and the bank's preparations to launch TDFs with private capital allocations. Questions were asked about strategies, timelines, and whether the bank needs guidance or approval from the Department of Labor, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or Congress before officially launching the product.

A wealth management company emphasizes that the majority of the $12 trillion in assets they manage is related to retirement investments, and they are dedicated to building better investment portfolios for retirees. The company plans to bring the successful experience of defined contribution investment-only (DCIO) companies and private market managers into individual long-term tax-advantaged accounts, seeing potential in implementing private market disclosures in large plans. Recent dialogues with policymakers and industry association activities have brought positive momentum to the push for private market disclosure reform in the United States, and although there is still a lot of work to be done, the company remains optimistic about the prospects for reform.

BlackRock announces partnership with Great Gray to leverage its 30 years of experience in the target date fund space to build and drive a glide path for public-private hybrid target date solutions. BlackRock will provide core exposure to index equities, fixed income, and private equity, with plans to launch a proprietary lifecycle target date fund that includes private equity in 2026. By expanding the investment portfolio, it is expected to generate an additional 50 basis points of return over a 30-year period for defined contribution plans, increasing total fund amounts by 18%. Additionally, the importance of data analytics and data in reducing litigation risks and addressing defined contribution business issues is emphasized, signaling more opportunities for BlackRock in this area.

In recent discussions, BlackRock detailed its strategy for planning and achieving profit growth and cost control after completing several acquisitions. The company emphasized that although recent acquisitions led to an increase in expenses, they expect these acquisitions to be self-funding and are likely to achieve double-digit growth in free cash flow and annual recurring revenue in the future. BlackRock's goal is to continue to maintain its industry-leading profit margin of 45% or higher by balancing controlled costs with organic revenue growth. Furthermore, the company mentioned that with the completion of the integration process, they expect to better control expenses and align them with organic base cost growth, thereby further improving profitability.

Blackstone Group is expanding its fundraising activities in the private equity market through a systematic approach, especially after integrating Giip and Hps, with a clear plan for the market beyond 2025. Currently, the group is raising funds in multiple areas, including mid-market and emerging market infrastructure, investment-grade and high-yield credit, real estate debt, and more. The group has successfully closed GP5, surpassing its fundraising target of over $25 billion, and has closed over $25 billion in secondary funds. Blackstone expects its total fundraising target in the private equity market to reach $400 billion by 2030, with growth expected to accelerate between 2028 and 2030. The group emphasizes that consistency in investment performance and high quality are key to achieving fundraising goals.

The current main focus of Blackstone Group is on fully integrating its acquired companies and achieving the expected synergies, while also focusing on providing customers with a seamless integrated experience. Although acquisitions are not a necessary means to achieve its organic growth goals, the group has demonstrated the ability to achieve or exceed its organic growth goals without major acquisition activities. Recent acquisitions, such as Elmtree, are seen as strategically enhancing its strength in specific business areas. In the future, Blackstone plans to continue adopting a cautious and selective capital and financial strategy, focusing on seeking acquisition opportunities that complement the private equity market and technology sectors. Additionally, Blackstone is also looking to expand in global capital markets, particularly in helping developing countries establish and expand their capital markets, such as projects in India and Saudi Arabia, which are seen as the main drivers of development in the next five years. While remaining open to attractive acquisition opportunities, especially complementary acquisitions in the private equity market and technology sectors, the group is more looking forward to achieving future success through organic growth as the global capital markets develop.

The discussion focused on the company's capital management strategies, including investing in the business, returning cash to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. The company plans to repurchase at least $1.5 billion of stocks in 2025 and maintain a dividend payout ratio of 40% to 50%, with an expected dividend growth rate in the high single digits to low double digits over the next five years. In addition, the discussion also involved how to adjust non-cash amortization to avoid impact on the dividend ratio.

The discussion focused on the strong organic growth of iShares in the European fixed income ETF market, as well as long-term development strategies, especially with the expansion of the European retail investor base and the alternative role of fixed income securities in iShares ETPs. It emphasized iShares' leading position in global ETF flows and the industry's most diverse offerings, particularly in the growth of fixed income, active management, digital assets, and European-listed products.

Martin mentioned that fund ETFs are leading the way in investments, with the European market showing enormous growth potential, despite being 5 to 6 years behind the United States in terms of development. As the acceptance of ETFs in the European market gradually increases, especially with the transition from fixed income to fixed contribution and the widespread use of digital platforms, it is expected that Europe will experience a high growth period similar to the past five years in the United States. At the same time, iShares has $1 trillion in assets under management in Europe, with a market share of 20%, demonstrating strong competitive advantages and future growth opportunities in the European market.

Blackstone Group, in its communication with central banks and regulatory agencies, has noticed the rise of stablecoins and their potential role in diversified U.S. dollar assets. With the advancement of digital currencies, the tokenization of stablecoins and financial assets is considered to be a future trend. Blackstone Group emphasizes that in order to ensure the legality and safety of stablecoins, they should be invested in short-term government bonds. In addition, central banks are considering using digital currency or stablecoins to promote the digitization of their national currencies, which will provide the Blackstone Group with the opportunity to participate in global currency policy making and manage related assets.

During the telephone conference, BlackRock presented its strong performance in the second quarter, emphasizing the firm's solid global relationships and the platform's role in driving future investment portfolios. The company expressed its expectations for the newly joined Hbs team, as well as its commitment to better meeting customer needs, which will bring stronger and more sustainable returns for shareholders. The conference ended with thanks and blessings to the participants.