April 11 (Reuters) - BlackRock ( BLK ) posted a drop in

first-quarter profit on Friday as the world's largest asset

manager took a hit from higher expenses.

Stock markets also faltered in the first quarter of 2025

after a strong run last year as the Trump administration's

erratic approach to trade policy kept investors on the back

foot.

"Uncertainty and anxiety about the future of markets and the

economy are dominating client conversations. We've seen periods

like this before when there were large, structural shifts in

policy and markets - like the financial crisis, COVID, and

surging inflation in 2022," CEO Larry Fink said in a statement.

The benchmark S&P 500 index fell 4.6% in the first quarter

of 2025, its worst start to a year since 2022.

Total expenses in the quarter rose to $3.58 billion from

$3.04 billion last year.

However, assets under management at the New York firm rose

to $11.58 trillion from $10.47 trillion last year, as investors

poured into exchange traded funds and other low-risk products.

Adjusted profit in the quarter rose to $11.30 per share

in the first three months of 2025, compared with $9.81 per share

a year ago.

Fink said earlier this week that the U.S. economy might

already be contracting, days after President Donald Trump's

announcement of steep new tariffs unleashed a punishing market

rout. Trump later temporarily lowered levies on certain

countries in a surprise reversal that offered some relief to

bruised markets worldwide.

The stock has lost nearly 11% since Trump's "Liberation Day"

announcements last week.

However, Fink has said that the market weakness was "more of

a buying opportunity than a selling opportunity" in the long run

and did not pose systemic risks.

The company's net income came in at $1.51 billion, or $9.64

per share, for the three months to March 31, down from $1.57

billion, or $10.48 per share, a year earlier.