Citi Wealth Picks BlackRock in Landmark Portfolio Deal
The $80 billion portfolio of Citi’s wealth clients will be managed by BlackRock in the largest agreement of its kind ever.
Citi has selected BlackRock to manage approximately $80 billion in assets for thousands of the bank's wealth clients globally, according to a statement. The asset manager will create a new portfolio offering called Citi Portfolio Solutions powered by BlackRock. The accounts are currently managed by Citi Investment Management (CIM).
Under the new agreement, BlackRock will manage a range of core, opportunistic and thematic investment strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset class strategies and, at a later point, private markets. In addition, BlackRock's Aladdin Wealth technology platform, which includes risk, portfolio management and data insight capabilities, has been selected by Citi and will be deployed to its private bankers and investment professionals.
Employee Transfer, New Products
As part of the agreement, certain CIM members will join BlackRock where they will continue to serve as portfolio managers on existing strategies for Citi clients. Even more new products and solutions will also be developed for Citi clients later by leveraging the scale, infrastructure and capabilities of BlackRock.
The agreement is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to customary approvals and conditions. It is not expected to have a material impact on Citi’s revenue or return targets.
«We want to bring best-in-class advice, solutions and service to our clients, and we want to serve more of the world’s changemakers,» said Andy Sieg, head of wealth at Citi. «With this offering, we can accomplish both. It brings together the sophisticated relationship-driven and market-based advice of our bankers, backed by the insights of our own Chief Investment Office, with the renowned investment expertise and innovative technology capabilities of BlackRock.»
