BlackRock, one of the world’s biggest fund management companies, had a sharp drop in earnings of 84 per cent in the fourth quarter, as investors pulled money from hedge funds and performance fees plunged.

BlackRock, 49 per cent owned by Merrill Lynch, said on Wednesday its net income fell to $53m, or 40 cents a share from $322.4m, or $2.43 a share, in the same quarter the previous year. It was BlackRock’s second consecutive quarter of falling profits.