Another Way to Invest in ETFs - Buy BlackRock Shares

Believe in ETFs? Want to bet on their continued growth at the expense of mutual funds? Then buy shares in the world's largest provider of ETFs BlackRock (BLK). Today's announcement of a 14% growth in Q3 net income, "... driven mostly by the asset growth of its ETF business..." is rather impressive given the enormous size of the company. Of course, the potential danger is that managers / employees may take most of the ETF-generated profit growth at the expense of shareholders. Or that competition may reduce profitability. But so far that seems not to be the case. BLK's 5-year return is 132% while one of BlackRock's flagship ETFs, the S&P 500's IVV is up 106% and another, the Canadian S&P / TSX 60 XIU is up a mere 51%.