Tim Hurd, president of BlueSpruce Investments LP, recommended BlackRock Inc., citing its exchange-traded funds business.

“One of the great things about BlackRock is that it’s a diversified company,” he said at the Invest for Kids Conference in Chicago today. He said it’s a “myth” that BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, is too big to grow.

BlackRock is among BlueSpruce’s top five U.S.-listed holdings, according to government filings. BlueSpruce owned 56.7 million BlackRock shares valued at $290.3 million at the end of June, filings show.

BlackRock is benefiting from new business from investors who are pulling money from Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC following the departure of bond manager Bill Gross. “Pimco is the gift that keeps on giving,” Hurd said.

Hurd, a former managing director at buyout firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, started Chicago-based BlueSpruce last year and has $375 million in assets.