Let's hear it for the ETFs. They may be low fee, but they rake it big bucks for their firms thanks to the tonnage.

For example, BlackRock's iShares generated about $727 million in fees from about $872 billion of assets, reports the Motley Fool.

Fool writer Jordan Wathen had this to say on the subject:

Now more than ever, BlackRock is showing that it has the capacity to build a wide moat around what is, to some extent, a commodity business. BlackRock's fast-growing iShares business is central to its ability to grow going forward, with management proudly announcing that it is building out the largest sales team and new platforms to capture a greater percentage of market share on the conference call.

A key element of this strategy, Wathen notes, has been BlackRock's portfolio construction operation. Building client-friendly portfolios helps lure more advisors to the iShares brand, he writes, also help the company attract retail clients to the firm's active funds.

BlackRcok's stellar earnings also caught the attention of Bloomberg. 

Edited by: Tommy Fernandez


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