Fund Managers Hurting
So far this year, investors have pulled $110 billion from U.S.-based stock funds, according to Thomson Reuters Lipper.
"Active" funds, whose managers bet on specific stocks and bonds, have lost $119 billion to cash withdrawals this year in the United States, according to Morningstar Inc.
"The whole industry is feeling that," Fink said.
BlackRock's own active performance remains a source of concern and diminished revenue, even as it took in new money last quarter.
The company attracted $37 billion into long-term fixed income investments and $13 billion in equities. Another $1.8 billion went into alternative investments, while its stock and bond-picking franchise took in $4 billion.
Yet BlackRock's performance fees -- which are usually earned when a fund beats its target return - fell by 72 percent in the quarter. Institutional clients withdrew money from form one of its key stockpicking groups, known as "scientific" active equity, as performance has lagged over the past year.
"Actively managed equity funds generate the highest revenues," said CFRA Research analyst Erik Oja. "Clearly it's a long-term downward trend for that."
Index Fund Future
But analysts say index funds may be the future. BlackRock's iShares business includes some relatively inexpensive "Core" ETFs that track markets, as well as pricier ones, branded "Edge," that attempt to copy and automate successful techniques used by active managers.