Combining high-quality B2B technology-enabled advice capabilities and
world-class investment and risk management solutions
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire FutureAdvisor, a leader in digital wealth
management.
FutureAdvisor will operate as a business within BlackRock Solutions
(BRS), the firm’s world-class investment and risk management platform.
The unit will provide financial institutions with high quality,
technology-enabled advice capabilities to improve their clients’
investment experience.
The combined offering will enable financial institutions to grow their
advisory businesses by leveraging technology to meet a growing consumer
trend of engaging with technology to gain insights on their investment
portfolios, including when making critical decisions around retirement.
This need is particularly acute among the mass-affluent – a large
segment accounting for 30% of total U.S. investable assets.
The acquisition of FutureAdvisor helps meet the needs of a range of
financial institutions including banks, insurers, large and small
broker-dealers, 401(k) platforms, and other advisory firms looking for a
digital-advice platform to increase customer loyalty and grow advisory
assets.
“As demand for digital wealth management grows, we believe that our
combined offering will accelerate our partner firms’ abilities to serve
the mass affluent in a convenient, scalable way,” said Tom Fortin, Head
of Retail Technology for BlackRock.
“BlackRock Solutions has a history of offering technology and advisory
services to a broad range of institutions. The acquisition of
FutureAdvisor is an extension of BRS’ mission to help clients solve
their most complex investment challenges through technology,” said
Robert Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer and global head of BlackRock
Solutions.
FutureAdvisor is a leader in digital wealth management. Its
technology-enabled advice capabilities include: personalized advice that
can look holistically across clients’ brokerage, IRA and 401(k)
accounts; tax-efficient portfolio management; mobile and web
applications; online account enrollment; and multi-custodian support.
BlackRock will complement these capabilities with multi-asset class
model portfolios, superior investment products and BlackRock Solutions’
long history of delivering enterprise technology and risk analytics from
Aladdin® to partner firms.
“BlackRock has dedicated enormous effort over the years to improving
financial outcomes through its leading active and passive investment
offerings as well as innovative retirement planning tools including its
CoRI™ Retirement Indexes. We look forward to integrating and delivering
this expertise to investors in partnership with financial institutions
in the months to come,” said Bo Lu, Chief Executive Officer and
Co-Founder of FutureAdvisor.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is
expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015. The financial impact of
the transaction is not material to BlackRock earnings per share. Terms
were not disclosed.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a global leader in investment management, risk management
and advisory services for institutional and retail clients. At June 30,
2015, BlackRock’s AUM was $4.721 trillion. BlackRock helps clients
around the world meet their goals and overcome challenges with a range
of products that include separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares®
(exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock
also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system
services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock
Solutions®. As of June 30, 2015, the firm had
approximately 12,400 employees in more than 30 countries and a major
presence in key global markets, including North and South America,
Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional
information, please visit the Company’s website at www.blackrock.com
| Twitter: @blackrock_news
| Blog: www.blackrockblog.com
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About FutureAdvisor
FutureAdvisor, based in San Francisco, is an award-winning registered
investment advisory firm serving clients nationwide. Our team of
Chartered Financial Analysts and Math PhDs use software to actively
monitor and manage clients’ existing 401(k), IRA, and taxable accounts
from a household-wide, long-term perspective. Visit FutureAdvisor.com
and see how we can help you reach your financial goals.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150826005586/en/
Media:
BlackRock, Inc.
Brian Beades, 212-810-5596
Brian.Beades@blackrock.com
or
Jessica
Greaney, 212-810-5498
Jessica.Greaney@blackrock.com
Source: BlackRock, Inc.