Oct 13 Reuters BlackRock handily beat thirdquarter profit estimates on Friday but posted a sharp drop in net inflows, sending shares of the world39;s largest asset manager down 1 in premarket trade.

A rise in investment advisory fees and BlackRock39;s assets under management AUM helped the company39;s adjusted profit of 10.91 per share breeze past analysts39; estimates of 8.26, according to LSEG data.

However, its net inflows for the quarter fell to 2.57 billion from 16.9 billion last year, reflecting 49 billion of net outflows from lowerfee institutional index equity strategies, including 19 billion from a single international client.

BlackRock ended the third quarter with 9.10 trillion in assets under management AUM, up from 7.96 trillion a year earlier, but lower than 9.4 trillion in the second quarter this year.

For the first time in nearly two decades, clients are earning a real return in cash and can wait for more policy and market certainty before rerisking. This dynamic weighed on the industry and BlackRock39;s thirdquarter flows, CEO Larry Fink said in a statement.

Hopes that the Federal Reserve could soon be done with its monetary tightening have helped calm investor worries about a potential recession, although indications that the central bank would keep its benchmark interest rate higher for longer have kept a lid on the positive sentiment.

The longterm trend of clients consolidating more of their portfolios with BlackRock is only accelerating, and…