BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK), has announced that the Firm will be cutting 3 percent of its global workforce, totaling to about 500 jobs worldwide. The world’s largest money manager looked to simplify parts of its business to focus on new priorities such as technology, fee-rich strategies and faster-growing markets.

Even after the cuts, the Firm’s head count will still be 4% higher than a year ago.

“After several years of meaningful headcount growth, we are making some changes this week to the size and shape of our workforce,” said Rob Kapito, BlackRock’s President and Director. “BlackRock is a growth company, and growth requires investment. The changes we are making now will help us continue to invest in our most important strategic growth opportunities for the future.”

The cuts by the Firm reflect the pains across the asset-management industry. BlackRock, like many other asset managers, has wrestled in the past year with diminishing investor inflows, increased price competition and fallen share prices.

In an internal memo released on Thursday, BlackRock said this is the first in a number of changes it is making this year to prepare the firm for the future. It is also planning to push more aggressively into markets overseas, where it had a smaller presence.

“Market uncertainty is growing, investor preferences are evolving, and the ecosystem in which we operate is becoming increasingly complex,” said the memo. “The changes we are making now will help us continue to invest in our most important strategic growth opportunities for the future.”