Firms aim to help millions of Americans with their retirement planning
needs, from saving to spending
NEW YORK & REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
BlackRock and Microsoft are reimagining America’s path toward achieving
greater financial security in retirement. Bringing together BlackRock’s
investment capabilities and Microsoft’s technology strength, the two
companies are jointly exploring next generation solutions to help more
people make better decisions as they work toward their financial goals
in retirement.
The traditional pension system that generations of workers depended on
for lifetime income has been upended, leaving millions of people with
the responsibility to plan for and fund their own retirement. Today,
many people are struggling with the difficult tasks of saving, investing
and spending their own retirement assets. This shift in responsibility,
from corporations to individuals, combined with ever increasing
life-spans, has created a need to reimagine a new approach to securing a
sound financial future in retirement – one that is powered by innovative
investment solutions and the most advanced, trusted and cutting-edge
technologies.
Technology is already revolutionizing entire industries and the way
people interact with everything from health care to education and
transportation. And yet, retirement solutions of today have been slow to
keep pace. Taking advantage of Microsoft’s cutting-edge technologies and
innovative investment products from BlackRock, the companies aim to make
it easier for people to both save for retirement and achieve the
lifetime income they need through their employers’ workplace savings
plan.
The companies are exploring the development of a new platform that helps
people develop better saving and investing habits through more regular
engagement with their retirement assets so that they have a clearer
picture of how their contributions today will translate to long-term
retirement income. BlackRock intends to offer the platform in connection
with next generation investment products that it will design and manage.
The new products from BlackRock will seek to provide a lifetime of
income in retirement and would be made available to U.S. workers through
their employers’ workplace savings plan.
“Retirement systems worldwide are under stress and providing financial
security to retirees has become one of the most defining societal
challenges of our time,” said Laurence D. Fink, Chairman and CEO of
BlackRock. “BlackRock has a tremendous responsibility to help solve this
challenge, and we recognize the need to act now. Working with Microsoft
will enable us to build a powerful solution for millions of hardworking
Americans.”
“Today millions of Americans are struggling to achieve their financial
goals for retirement,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Together
with BlackRock we will apply the power of the cloud and AI to introduce
new solutions that address this important challenge and reimagine
retirement planning.”
About BlackRock
BlackRock helps investors build better financial futures. As a fiduciary
to our clients, we provide the solutions they need when planning for
their most important goals. As of September 30, 2018, the firm managed
approximately $6.44 trillion in assets on behalf of investors worldwide.
For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for
the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is
to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve
more.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181213005415/en/
BlackRock
Jessica Greaney
Jessica.Greaney@BlackRock.com
(212)
810-5498
Microsoft
WE Communications for Microsoft
rapidresponse@we-worldwide.com
(425)
638-7777
Source: BlackRock