The size of the global Exchange Traded Products (ETP) industry has now surpassed the milestone figure of $2 trillion, according to the ETP Research team at BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK).

The ETP market had a record-breaking year for flows in 2012, attracting $262.7bn in assets globally and growing by 27% compared with the end of 2011. This momentum has carried into January and the industry reached $2 trillion in assets under management on 18 January 2013.

Increased investment in ETPs is being seen in all major regions, as a broad spectrum of institutional, professional and retail investors are using the products to access asset classes in a cost-efficient and effective way, whatever the market conditions. At an asset class level, fixed income ETPs and emerging market equity ETPs set new records for their categories in 2012, recording net inflows of $70.0bn and $54.8bn respectively.

Dodd Kittsley, Global Head of ETP Research for BlackRock, commented

"This is an important and notable milestone for the ETP industry. Hot on the heels of an impressive 2012, the market has continued to grow in the early months of 2013, and we expect this to continue during the rest of this year.

"The dynamics of the ETP market are changing and developing. As ETPs become better known and understood in different regions and amongst different types of investors, uptake is fast increasing. Added to this, ETP providers are expanding and deepening their coverage of different assets classes and regions, allowing investors to put ETPs to use in new ways and employ them to access areas where they couldn't before, such as emerging market debt. ETPs were once thought of as primarily equity-based funds for institutional investors, and today's milestone proves this is certainly no longer the case.

"It took the ETP industry 19 years to surpass $1trn in assets under management, which it did in 2009, and only a further 4 years to double this. We look forward to reaching and surpassing the next milestone, as more investors come to experience the variety of ways they can use ETPs to invest in the markets."

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About BlackRock

BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2012, BlackRock's AUM was $3.792 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients' needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2012, the firm has approximately 10,500 employees in 30 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.

About iShares

iShares is the global product leader in exchange traded funds with over 600 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 20 exchanges worldwide. The iShares Funds are bought and sold like common stocks on securities exchanges. The iShares Funds are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. The iShares customer base consists of the institutional segment of pension plans and fund managers, as well as the retail segment of financial advisors and high net worth individuals.

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BlackRock
Melissa Garville, 212-810-5528
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or
Diane Henry, 415-670-4567
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