(Editor’s note: A while back the data science division of BlackRock, which has assets under management (AUM) of $5.7 trillion as of June 30, 2017, was looking for a way to provide more dynamic access to resources, including the widely used Aladdin platform, a.k.a. Asset Liability and Debt and Derivatives Investment Network. Aladdin offers investment… Read More >>
Credit Suisse Asset Management Group Sells Off Actiance Investment
Sale is Key to the Merging of Actiance and Smarsh Credit Suisse Asset Management’s NEXT Investors group reported on Nov. 30 that it has exited its investment in Actiance, a communications and social media compliance, archiving, and analytics vendor, via a sale to K1 Investment Management, a U.S. private equity firm that invests in enterprise… Read More >>
BlackRock Revamps and Includes a Nod to Robots
Asset manager BlackRock is rearranging its investment teams in the U.S. according to “a more focused product line-up,” shifting resources within teams to generate more alpha, and looking to data science to advance the generation of automated investment ideas. The firm is “positioning its equity investment platform for the future of active management — leveraging… Read More >>
BlackRock Signs Trillion-Dollar Custody Deal with JPMorgan
BlackRock will be using JPMorgan’s Corporate & Investment Bank unit for custodial services, fund accounting, and fund administration for more than $1 trillion of client assets, shifting them from State Street Bank and Trust Co. The move, expected to take two years to complete, is widely seen as a major win for JPMorgan. But it… Read More >>
BlackRock Penalized for Anti-Whistleblower Separation Agreements
Asset manager BlackRock has been penalized $340,000 to settle allegations from the SEC that it forced employees who were leaving the firm to give up their rights to the proceeds from whistleblowing on violations of securities laws. “According to the SEC’s order, more than 1,000 departing BlackRock employees signed separation agreements containing violative language stating… Read More >>
European Firms Dump Derivatives for Easier ETFs
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are gathering momentum among European institutional investors due to lower fees, ease of use and operational simplicity compared to derivatives. In fact, firms are increasingly using ETFs instead of derivatives and as a tool for diversification and rebalancing portfolios, according to a new report ETFs in the European Institutional Channel, from… Read More >>
BlackRock Bids Farewell to ETF Exec
A key executive overseeing the iShares exchange traded funds (ETFs) business at BlackRock, Joseph Cavatoni, is leaving the firm, confirm officials at the asset manager who decline further comment on Cavatoni’s future. As head of the Americas iShares Capital Markets group, Cavatoni’s departure was made known to major media outlets via a memo shared internally… Read More >>
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Picks Thomson Reuters KYC Service
Thomson Reuters, an information company, reports that the venerable Stifel Nicolaus Europe investment management firm has picked the Org ID KYC managed service to streamline Stifel’s know-your-customer (KYC) process. Specifically, Stifel Nicolaus Europe will be using the Thomson Reuters Org ID service to “onboard their European legal entities. The adoption of the Org ID global… Read More >>
BlackRock to Pay $12M to Settle SEC Charges
BlackRock Advisors will be making a penalty payment of $12 million to the SEC for failing to disclose a conflict of interest created by the outside business activity of a top-performing portfolio manager, SEC officials say. To settle the charges, BlackRock has also agreed to hire an independent compliance consultant to conduct an internal review,… Read More >>
McPartland Leaves BlackRock as ACTIV Hires from Morningstar
McPartland Leaves BlackRock for Greenwich Associates Kevin McPartland has left asset manager BlackRock, where he was a director in the electronic trading and market structure group for little over a year, and joined Greenwich Associates as principal to lead a new market structure and technology advisory service, say officials at the market research firm.The new… Read More >>
