BlackRock Inc. has officially taken over management responsibilities for $80 billion in assets for Citigroup’s private banking clients globally.
The agreement, which the firms are calling Citi Portfolio Solutions powered by BlackRock, is one of the largest deals of its kind. BlackRock already managed more than $600 billion in client investments and, through the deal, took over the last chunk the bank was directly managing.
As part of the agreement, some Citi Investment Management employees have joined Blackrock. Fewer than 100 Citigroup staff have made the move, according to a Bloomberg report in September when the firms originally announced the tie-up. The September report also said that BlackRock will receive management fees and Citigroup will keep fees for advising clients.
The moves includes Rob Jasminski, head of Citi Investment Management, who has now joined BlackRock to oversee the program.
“This new offering combines the investment advisory and planning capabilities of Citi with the investment management and technology strengths of BlackRock,” according to an internal memo that BlackRock circulated to employees. “Our new colleagues will be ensuring continuity of strategies and service for Citi’s clients, and we will collectively work to bring BlackRock’s broader platform capabilities to better serve Citi Wealth clients.”
The memo also said BlackRock will take on a “whole portfolio approach” and manage a “range of thematic and opportunistic strategies spanning equities, fixed income and multi-asset solutions.”Eventually, Blackrock will also offer its Aperio (direct indexing), SpiderRock (customized option overlays), private markets and other active and index strategies, as well as implementation through Aladdin Wealth (its investment management platform). The initiative will also extend Blackrock’s SMA business internationally for the first time.
