BlackRock is making key leadership changes and combining some teams internally, according to a memo to employees from CEO Larry Fink and President Rob Kapito. The changes follow several major private market-linked acquisitions at BlackRock in the past year: Global Infrastructure Partners,

Mark Wiedman was most recently head of BlackRock’s global client business

Wiedman, head of the global client business, was instrumental in driving BlackRock's growth in passive investing.

BlackRock ( BLK) shares rose 4% Wednesday morning as the asset manager posted better-than-expected quarterly results on record assets under management (AUM).

BlackRock said in its fourth-quarter earnings report Wednesday that assets under management jumped to a record $11.55 trillion, up from $10 trillion a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected BlackRock to report a record $11.

Rising stock prices tend to bode well for BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, as inflows boost the hundreds of funds it offers. The past quarter was likely no exception. Analysts tracked by FactSet expect the New York-based firm to report a record $11.