BlackRock, the world's biggest fund manager with $3.66 trillion in assets, appears to be improving its investment performance, following a couple of years when it has struggled to beat markets in both fixed-income and its computer-driven quant equities strategies.

In its second-quarter results, released this afternoon, the firm said that about 66% of its actively-managed funds are ahead of either their market-related benchmarks, or their peer groups, over the three years to June 31.