Financial blogs, Twitter accounts and websites are a buzz following the jab BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Larry Fink took at Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Mohamed El-Erian and his economic outlook on the recovery.
Fink told analysts and reporters Tuesday that he never believed in the “new normal,” a term El-Erian coined about two years ago to describe the slow-growth economy following the financial crises and recession.
BlackRock is the world’s largest investment manager, controlling $3.5 trillion at the end of 2010, according to its latest quarterly report.
Fink isn’t the only one to take a shot at the economic description that quickly became a household term for business followers.
Some television pundits and online squawkers also have taken issue with the Pimco assessment, citing the stock market run in the last year, and updated forecasts on U.S. production this year.
Many economists predict 3% growth in the U.S. in 2011.
Newport Beach-based Pimco, which controls about $1.2 trillion in bond and other investments, has identified BlackRock as a major competitor for its new stock funds.
In April, Pimco launched its Pathfinder global stock fund, which has grown to $1.8 billion and counts investors in the U.S., Asia and Europe.
In a few months, Pimco will launch another fund concentrating on emerging markets.
Pimco officials have told the Business Journal they are at an advantage over rivals who focus more on domestic stocks, since all of Pimco’s stock strategies are global in nature and scope.
Pimco’s Total Return Fund, made up mostly of bonds, is the largest fund of any type with $256 billion in assets.
