领先华尔街

Larry Fink was once a prince of Wall Street. In the 1980s he became the youngest managing director ever at First Boston, where he was a pioneer in the mortgage bond market. He might have been fitted for the crown at the investment bank, now owned by Credit Suisse, but in 1986 his mortgage department lost $100m in a single quarter. Two years later he was out.

拉里·芬克(Larry Fink)曾是华尔街的王子。二十世纪八十年代，他被提拔为第一波士顿(First Boston)有史以来最年轻的董事总经理，并成为了抵押债券市场的先行者。他本来或许会成为这家投资银行的最高管理者（第一波士顿现已被瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)收购），但1986年他所在的抵押债券部门在一个季度之内就亏损了1亿美元。两年后他选择了离开。

Today, as the head of BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager, with $3.7tn in assets – Mr Fink is at the pinnacle of US finance. But do not suggest that he is a Wall Street chieftain. Mr Fink has long defined himself as an anti-Wall Street figure.

现如今，芬克是全球规模最大的资产管理公司贝莱德(BlackRock)的首席执行官——贝莱德的资产管理规模达3.7万亿美元，登上了美国金融界的顶峰。但这并不意味着他就是华尔街的首领。长期以来，芬克一直把自己定位为一位反华尔街人士。

“I have always said we are not Wall Street. We left Wall Street, says Mr Fink. “We have a different business model, which happens to be better for the environment we live in.

芬克表示：“我一直都在说，我们不属于华尔街，我们早已离开了华尔街。我们奉行不同于华尔街的业务模式，这种模式碰巧更适合我们目前所处的环境。

It is a sentiment in tune with the times, and one that has served BlackRock well. Unlike the Wall Street banks, Mr Fink’s firm emerged from the financial crisis with its reputation enhanced and its business strengthened. And unlike many Wall Street executives, who in recent years have endured Congressional grillings and government investigations, Mr Fink has had good relations with the Obama administration.

这种态度与当前的时代潮流合拍，并使贝莱德受益匪浅。与其他华尔街银行不同，芬克掌舵的贝莱德在经历金融危机洗礼后市场声望更高，业务根基更加巩固。和近年来很多遭到国会质询以及政府调查的华尔街高管不同，芬克与奥巴马政府一直关系融洽。

In fact, Mr Fink – a committed Democrat – has made little secret of his wish to join a second-term Obama administration as Treasury secretary, replacing his friend Tim Geithner. But given that the top priority of the incoming Treasury secretary will be to fix the fiscal deficit, a job that requires detailed understanding of budget numbers and longstanding relations with Congress, it may be a long shot.

事实上，芬克作为一名坚定的民主党人，几乎从未掩饰自己希望加入奥巴马第二任政府、接替友人蒂姆·盖特纳(Tim Geithner)出任美国财政部长的愿望。但鉴于新一任财政部长的首要任务是填补财政赤字，任职者应兼具对预算数据的深刻理解以及与国会的长期友好关系，芬克获得任命的概率较校

Whether he gets the job or not, his desire for the Treasury post is a sign that Mr Fink, who turned 60 this month, is restlessly pondering what to do next.

但不论芬克是否获得任命，他希望出任财政部长一职都是一个信号，表明这位本月就将满60岁的金融大亨一直在不停思考下一步该怎么走。

But if he finds himself at a turning point, so too does his firm. BlackRock’s size and power has not received much attention from the public or regulators, but that could change.

但如果说芬克目前处在职业生涯的转折点上，他所掌管的公司很可能也正处于类似的发展阶段。贝莱德的规模和影响力尚未引起公众和监管部门的广泛关注，但这一点可能随着时间改变。

To the surprise of some analysts, BlackRock is not considered a “systemically important financial institution – a designation that brings with it capital requirements and tighter regulatory scrutiny. And after a period of rapid expansion, marked by a number of acquisitions, it appears to many investors that the firm’s growth rate is going to slow.

令某些分析师颇感意外的是，贝莱德不属于“具有系统性影响的金融机构——这类机构需满足资本充足性要求并将面临更加严格的监管审查。很多投资者都认为，贝莱德在经历了一段以多笔收购为标志的快速扩张期之后，未来的增长速度将有所放缓。

To the first question, BlackRock answers that as an asset manager, its business model is fundamentally different from the banks – and safer. But regulators are considering whether asset managers such as BlackRock should be included among systemically important institutions.

对于第一个问题，贝莱德的回答是，作为一家资产管理公司，自身业务模式与银行有着本质区别，安全系数更高。但监管当局目前正在考虑是否应将像贝莱德这样的资产管理公司纳入具有系统性影响的金融机构范畴。

BlackRock is trying to answer the second question by pushing into new businesses – most controversially by attempting to cut Wall Street out of the deal flow by creating an in-house electric exchange. This is a direct assault on the heart of Wall Street.

贝莱德正在试图通过开拓新的业务领域来回应第二个问题——其中最具争议的莫过于试图通过创建内部电子交易系统将华尔街排除在交易流程以外。此举直击华尔街心脏。

Having begun life as “the bond gorilla, in Mr Fink’s words, it is now an equities powerhouse, and a leader in passive as well as active strategies. And BlackRock is also making a big push in alternative strategies. “We can compete with any private equity firm. We offer the same economics and the best information flow, he says.

贝莱德以债券业务起家；用芬克的话来说，公司刚成立时就像是一只“闯入债券市场的大猩猩。现如今贝莱德已成为股票市场上实力雄厚的一家机构，在消极与积极投资策略领域均为市场领头羊。此外该公司目前还在大力发展另类投资业务。芬克表示：“我们可以与任何一家私募股权公司竞争。我们能够实现同等的效益并提供最优质的信息流。

Because it had no debt during the credit bubble years, BlackRock was able to buy assets from reluctant sellers, including Merrill Lynch and Barclays. It acquired Merrill’s asset management arm and Barclays Global Investors, where its valuable exchange traded funds sit, in the process.

由于贝莱德在信贷泡沫期内没有背上债务负担，因此在金融危机中有能力从美林(Merrill Lynch)、巴克莱(Barclays)等并不情愿的卖家手中收购资产。贝莱德收购了美林的资产管理部门以及巴克莱国际投资管理公司(Barclays Global Investors)，后者拥有价值很高的交易所交易基金(ETF)业务。

Still, investors in BlackRock stock remain wary of its ability to expand its huge base of assets. “The law of large numbers works against them, says Marc Irizarry, analyst for Goldman Sachs.

但贝莱德的股东对其进一步拓展业务空间的能力仍有顾虑，因为该公司的资产基础规模已然非常庞大。高盛(Goldman Sachs)分析师马克·伊里萨里(Marc Irizarry)表示：“根据大数定律，市场有理由对贝莱德的未来发展持怀疑态度。

Mr Fink and Rob Kapito, his number two, have heard this argument before and deny suggestions that BlackRock is too big to manage. “Scale is a virtue, Mr Fink says. “Our performance has turned dramatically. I have not felt this confident on where we are going in over five years.

芬克和他的副手罗布·卡皮托(Rob Kapito)曾经听说过市场中的这种观点，并反驳了认为贝莱德规模过大难以管理的说法。芬克称：“规模大是一件好事。公司业绩的上升势头显著，我对公司未来五年的发展方向从未像现在这样信心十足。

Mr Kapito is also keen to dispute the idea that BlackRock is taking on Wall Street. “Offering clients the ability to trade with each other with no bid offer spread isn’t disintermediating the Street, he says. “It is just another alternative. We are helping to keep the market at better levels for clients.

卡皮托还敏锐地驳斥了有关贝莱德正在向华尔街宣战的说法。他指出：“使客户能够不带买卖差价地互相交易并不等同于排挤华尔街的金融中介职能。这只是一种新的交易模式。我们这么做有助于维护更好的市场环境，以保护客户的利益。

Besides the sheer size of its business, there are other measures of BlackRock’s growing influence. Mr Fink slips in and out of the offices of the world’s financial and political elite with ease. Not long ago, he hired Philip Hildebrand, former governor of the Swiss National Bank, to keep his largest clients happy.

除了业务规模以外，还可以通过其他指标考量贝莱德日益扩大的影响力。芬克可以轻而易举地与全球金融界及政界精英会面。不久前他还聘请了瑞士央行(Swiss National Bank)的前任行长菲利普·希尔德布兰(Philip Hildebrand)负责维护与大客户之间的关系。

When the US government needed help to wind down AIG’s toxic book of mortgage securities, the Federal Reserve awarded BlackRock the lucrative contract without seeking other bids.

当美国政府需要外界帮助以清理美国国际集团(AIG)的有毒抵押证券资产时，美联储(Federal Reserve)没有举行外部招标就把这一利润丰厚的业务交给了贝莱德。

The BlackRock team assembled for that project – which yielded a profit for US taxpayers – formed the nucleus of a group that now advises governments across Europe.

贝莱德为AIG项目（该项目为美国纳税人带来了收益）组建的团队现已成为了一个向欧洲各国政府提供咨询服务的业务部门核心。

Jim Millstein, a former Treasury official who oversaw the winding down of AIG’s portfolio, says BlackRock was awarded the mandate because it had few entanglements – unlike most Wall Street firms.

吉姆·米尔斯坦(Jim Millstein)是负责监督AIG资产组合清理工作的前美国财政部官员。他指出，贝莱德获得这项委托是由于其利益瓜葛较少，不同于绝大多数华尔街金融机构。

“It was the least conflicted and best endowed, he said. “It had a robust model.

米尔斯坦表示：“贝莱德是利益冲突最少以及最有实力参与清理有毒资产的金融机构，该公司的业务模式稳健有力。

BlackRock is also the largest shareholder of many companies. When Stuart Gulliver became chief executive of HSBC in January 2011, one of the first things he did was fly to New York to ask for Mr Fink’s support.

贝莱德还是很多企业的第一大股东。当欧智华(Stuart Gulliver)于2011年1月成为汇丰银行(HSBC)的首席执行官时，他所采取的第一批举措就包括飞赴纽约寻求芬克的支持。

The power of the firm also lies in Mr Fink’s relations with some of the biggest pools of money in the world – especially the big sovereign wealth funds in Asia and the Middle East. When one of the financiers for his acquisition of BGI fell through, he raised billions for the deal in 24 hours from the Chinese, the Kuwaitis and the Singaporeans.

贝莱德的影响力还来自于芬克与全球其他几大资产管理公司之间的关系——特别是亚洲和中东的大型主权财富基金。在贝莱德收购巴克莱国际投资管理公司的交易中，当融资方之一中途退出后，芬克在24个小时之内就从中国、科威特以及新加坡人手中筹集到了交易所需的数十亿美元资金。

Mr Fink spends about half his time on the road and carries about 10 different currencies in his wallet at any given time.

芬克约有一半的时间都在出差途中，并且任何时候都在钱包里装着10来种不同国家的货币。

When Mr Fink left First Boston to establish BlackRock Financial Management in 1988 – building it under private equity and alternative investment firm Blackstone – it would have been hard to imagine that the business would one day dwarf that of his former employer.

在离开第一波士顿以后，芬克于1988年创立了贝莱德金融管理公司(BlackRock Financial Management)——当时该公司是私募股权与另类投资公司黑石(Blackstone)集团的子公司——或许很少有人能够预见，芬克创立的这家公司有朝一日将让他的前任雇主相形见绌。

Today, Steve Schwarzman, the founder of Blackstone, describes letting Mr Fink go as one of the biggest mistakes he ever made. (Given the fact that Blackstone originally had 100 per cent of the business, he is probably right.)

现如今，黑石创始人史蒂夫·施瓦茨曼(Steve Schwarzman)表示，放芬克走是他所犯过的最大错误之一（鉴于黑石最初拥有贝莱德100%的股权，施瓦茨曼此言或许属实）。

Mr Fink severed the firm’s relationship with Blackstone in 1995, later selling a $230m stake to PNC, which has reaped about $8bn from that initial investment.

芬克于1995年切断了贝莱德与黑石的联系，并在此后不久向PNC金融服务集团（PNC Financial Services Group，简称PNC）出售了价值2.3亿美元的公司股份；PNC通过这笔早期投资现已获利约80亿美元。

“They allowed us to evolve when Blackstone wouldn’t, Mr Fink says. The firm went public in 1999 and PNC still retains 20 per cent.

芬克表示：“当时PNC给了我们发展的空间，而黑石则不愿这样做。贝莱德于1999年首发上市，目前PNC仍持有贝莱德20%的股权。

One of the seminal moments in the early BlackRock history came when General Electric asked for the firm’s help in winding down Kidder Peabody’s assets, after that Wall Street firm –- purchased by GE in 1986 – imploded in 1994.

通用电气(General Electric)在清理基德尔皮博迪(Kidder Peabody)资产时向贝莱德寻求帮助，这是贝莱德早期发展历程中具有深远影响的时刻之一。通用电气于1986年收购的这家华尔街投资银行在1994年破产。

That marked the first time BlackRock applied its own technology on behalf of a customer.

这是贝莱德首次应客户请求施展自身的专业技能。

Today, BlackRock’s Solutions business – which uses complex technology to assess the risks of portfolios – has become core to the firm and a huge differentiating factor. It has also led to the development of the Aladdin platform, which is now diverting trades away from Wall Street.

现如今，BlackRock Solutions部门借助复杂的技术手段评估投资组合风险，已成为贝莱德的核心业务以及体现该公司差异化特色的重要部门。该部门还促使贝莱德自行研发了阿拉丁交易网络(Aladdin Trading Network)，借助于该网络能够绕开华尔街交易商进行交易。

Only four of the founding generation are still at the firm. Susan Wagner, for many years Mr Fink’s alter ego, retired this year but still sits on the board.

贝莱德的创始元老中目前仅有四位仍在公司任职。芬克长期以来的密友苏珊·魏格纳(Susan Wagner)今年退休，但仍是贝莱德董事会成员。

With the old guard leaving, Mr Fink has been making big changes at the top. Richard Kushel has been named deputy chief operating officer, which some insiders speculate gives him an edge over other contenders to move to the executive offices.

随着老一辈创始人陆续离职，芬克近期开始对公司高管层做重大调整。理查德·库舍尔(Richard Kushel)被任命为代理首席运营官(COO)，一些内部人士猜测这可能使他相对于其他竞争者来说更有希望升上高级管理层。

Mr Kushel has been put in charge of what the firm calls its strategic products management group.

库舍尔目前负责贝莱德的战略性产品管理部门。

And behind him are some rising stars including Mark Wiedman, currently in charge of iShares, the ETF business, and Mark McCombe, who Mr Fink hired from HSBC to run BlackRock in Asia.

除库舍尔之外，还有其他一些冉冉升起的新星，例如目前负责交易所交易基金业务iShares的马克·维德曼(Mark Wiedman)以及芬克从汇丰银行(HSBC)请来负责贝莱德亚洲业务的马克·麦库姆(Mark McCombe)。

Besides Mr Hildebrand, Mr Fink has brought in other high-profile outsiders, including Kendrick Wilson, a former US Treasury official.

除了瑞士央行前任行长希尔德布兰之外，芬克还延揽了前美国财政部官员肯德里克·威尔逊(Kendrick Wilson)等其他外部知名人士。

In wishful moments Mr Fink may hope that some day, after he has left the Treasury, Mr Geithner would consider joining BlackRock. But Mr Fink appreciates that any conversation with Mr Geithner about this while he is in his current position would be inappropriate.

芬克或许希望，盖特纳在离开美国财政部以后有朝一日会考虑加盟贝莱德。但芬克明白，在盖特纳仍然在任期间与他讨论这一问题是不恰当的。

Meanwhile, Mr Fink is becoming ever more active in trying to shape the political debate in Washington, whether he joins the Obama administration or not.

与此同时，芬克也在前所未有地积极活动，试图影响华盛顿的政治风向，这与他是否会加入奥巴马政府无关。

For instance, he has publicly urged Congress to resolve the stand-off over the fiscal cliff.

例如他曾公开敦促国会化解两党在财政悬崖问题上的对立僵局。

Having a greater voice in Washington neatly dovetails with BlackRock’s pitch to help investors deal with the lack of yield in the world.

扩大在华盛顿的影响力完全符合贝莱德帮助投资者应对全球市场收益低迷问题的宣传口号。

Next week, Mr Fink will fly out to the US west coast to address the two big California pension funds, Calpers and Calstrs, on the need to focus on matching the assets they hold against the types of liabilities they will eventually have to pay.

近日芬克将飞往美国西海岸，向加州公务员养老基金(CalPERS)和加州教师养老基金(CalSTRS)这两家大型养老基金讲解关注所持资产与终需偿付的债务之间匹配程度的重要性。

Mr Fink worries that too many corporate pension funds are doing things for accounting reasons rather than sound economic reasons.

芬克担心，大量的企业养老基金目前是在出于会计目的行事，而非基于合理的经济原因。

He is trying to get a more rational tax policy adopted, one that gives favourable tax treatment only for investments held for 36 months, rather than the current 12 months.

他正在促使政府采取一项更加合理的税收政策，该政策将仅对持有超过36个月的投资给予税收优惠待遇，而非现行的12个月。

Mr Fink added his voice to the battle over taxes on the wealthiest Americans, saying that a low rate on the profits of private equity firms – the so-called “carried interest rate – ought to be raised.

芬克还参与了有关对美国最富有人群征税问题的论战。他指出，应当提高私募股权投资公司现行的低所得税率，即所谓的“附带权益(carried interest)税率。

While Mr Fink and Mr Kapito have been discussing the succession with the board since 2005 when the founding generation first started to depart, and have nurtured lots of contenders, there still is no clear heir.

虽然芬克与副手卡皮托自2005年以来就在和董事会讨论接班人问题——当时公司的创始元老刚刚开始离去——并培养了很多潜在竞争者，但目前仍无明确的接班人眩

“It will be a great moment for me when I see the firm doing better without me than with me, says Mr Fink. “That’s the difference between being a founder and being a CEO.

芬克表示：“我希望在离开以后看到公司比我在任时经营得更好，这将是一个意义重大的时刻。公司创始人与首席执行官之间的区别就在于此。