Key Highlights

• BlackRock attracted $192 billion of total net inflows in the quarter, while T. Rowe Price saw net outflows of $6.5 billion despite record AUM of $1.89 trillion.

• BlackRock's Revenue rose 31% to $7.08 billion, while T. Rowe Price's net revenues rose 10.7% to $1.91 billion on market appreciation.

• T. Rowe Price's effective fee rate fell to 38.1 basis points from 39.6 a year earlier as clients shifted toward lower-cost vehicles.

Fund flows matter for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ:TROW) because an asset manager is paid a percentage of the money it runs, so new client money compounds fee income in a way that market rallies alone do not. The latest quarterly results from these two S&P 500 asset managers show the gap starkly. In the three months to June 30, 2026, BlackRock attracted $192 billion of total net inflows, while T. Rowe Price, despite record assets, saw clients withdraw a net $6.5 billion. Both companies remained S&P 500 constituents after the index's September 2026 quarterly rebalance.

What a Flow Actually Changes

Assets under management move for two reasons: market performance and net flows, meaning new client money minus redemptions. Markets lift every manager; flows reveal whether clients are choosing a particular one. Because most revenue comes from base fees charged as a percentage of AUM, positive flows enlarge the fee base even when markets stall.

BlackRock measures this through organic base fee growth, the annualised change in base fees attributable to net flows rather than market moves. On July 15, 2026, it reported 10% organic base fee growth over the previous twelve months, after $868 billion of net inflows, taking AUM to a record $15.3 trillion.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): Breadth Across the Platform

BlackRock's inflows were spread widely. iShares Exchange-traded funds took in $177.9 billion in the quarter, active strategies $53.3 billion and private markets $15.4 billion, partly offset by $7.4 billion of outflows from cash management. First-half net inflows reached a record $321 billion.

That mix feeds directly into revenue. Revenue rose 31% year on year to $7.08 billion, which the company attributed to markets, organic growth, fees linked to its HPS private-credit acquisition, higher performance fees and technology revenue. Base fees and securities lending revenue climbed to $5.73 billion from $4.45 billion, while technology services and subscription revenue, led by the Aladdin platform, rose 13% to $566 million.

Scale shows up in profitability too. GAAP Operating Margin improved to 34.7% from 31.9%; the as-adjusted margin reached 45.9%. BlackRock repurchased $450 million of shares in the quarter and raised planned quarterly Buybacks to $550 million.

T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ:TROW): Record Assets, Net Withdrawals

T. Rowe Price, the Baltimore-based manager historically centred on actively managed Equity funds, tells a different story. Its release of July 31, 2026, showed AUM of a record $1.89 trillion at June 30, up 12.9% year on year, alongside $6.5 billion of net client outflows in the quarter and $20.2 billion over the first half.

The asset-class split explains the pressure. Equity outflows were $13.5 billion in the quarter, partly offset by inflows of $4.6 billion into fixed income and Money Market strategies, $2.0 billion into alternatives and $0.4 billion into multi-asset. The increase in AUM came overwhelmingly from market appreciation and income, put at $190.2 billion for the quarter.

Earnings were nonetheless stronger. Net revenues rose 10.7% to $1.91 billion and GAAP diluted Earnings per share increased to $2.88 from $2.24; adjusted EPS was $2.57. Chair and chief executive Rob Sharps pointed to positive flows in May and June in areas where the firm is investing for growth.

Why Fee Rates Widen the Gap

Flows also change the price a manager earns. T. Rowe Price's effective fee rate, excluding performance fees, fell to 38.1 basis points from 39.6 a year earlier. When clients move from higher-fee active equity funds towards bond, multi-asset or lower-cost vehicles, revenue per dollar tends to slip even if total Assets hold up.

BlackRock faces its own mix effect, because iShares index funds generally charge less than active mandates. However, when inflows are this large, Volume can outweigh a lower average price, and private markets and technology add further revenue streams.

The industry backdrop explains the direction of travel. US active mutual funds and ETFs recorded estimated net outflows of $2 billion in the 12 months to June 30, 2026, while passive funds took in $1,249 billion; active equities alone lost $477 billion.

How T. Rowe Price Is Responding

Management is building newer channels. The firm had 34 ETFs with about $30 billion of assets and $4.4 billion of second-quarter ETF net inflows, and launched a private-markets interval fund with Goldman Sachs on July 1. Sharps warned that second-half flows would be meaningfully more challenging, citing continued active-equity outflows and the absence of large mandates that had helped earlier in the year.

On costs, adjusted operating expenses rose 4.9% year on year and full-year 2026 adjusted operating expenses are expected to increase by 4% to 7%. The company returned $441 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks in the quarter.

Risks to This Reading

Flows are volatile. BlackRock's quarterly totals can include large, low-fee institutional or index mandates that add assets without adding much revenue, and a market correction would shrink the fee base for both firms regardless of flows. BlackRock's year-on-year growth also includes acquisitions, notably HPS, which flatter comparisons.

For T. Rowe Price, improved Investment performance could revive Demand for active equity, and market gains have so far cushioned earnings from outflows. Conversely, falling markets combined with continued redemptions would hit revenue from two directions.

Tracking the Flow Gap

For BlackRock, organic base fee growth, iShares and private-markets flows, the cash-management line and delivery of the higher $550 million quarterly buyback are key markers. For T. Rowe Price, whether flows stay positive after May and June, the pace of equity redemptions, ETF and retirement mandates, the effective fee rate and expense growth against the 4% to 7% range deserve attention.