BlackRock has pencilled-in several new hires in NZ after announcing its first local appointee last week.
“We intend to grow our local team in New Zealand to reflect our commitment to serving a broad set of clients,” a BlackRock spokesperson said.
The US$10 trillion plus firm has an outsize presence in NZ as underlying manager for ASB and AMP as well as via other wholesale mandates and retail products (especially exchange-traded funds).
ASB manages more than $20 billion across its KiwiSaver and retail funds while AMP last reported about $12 billion under management.
Last year ANZ, which manages over $30 billion of retail and KiwiSaver money, also flagged an investment services agreement with BlackRock.
If the ANZ deal comes to fruition, BlackRock would either manage or influence over $40 billion of KiwiSaver funds – or roughly 40 per cent of the total assets in the retirement savings regime.
While BlackRock is expected to employ local client relationship staff to work with funds here, the group seeded its Auckland office in Commercial Bay last week by naming Will Thomson as managing director climate infrastructure team in NZ, effective July this year.
“This senior appointment follows BlackRock’s decision to open an office in Auckland this year,” the release says. “BlackRock has been investing and managing the retirement savings of New Zealanders for over a decade, serving a broad set of clients including sovereign entities, KiwiSaver providers, wealth and asset managers, as well as institutional and broking firms.”
Thomson, director principal investments at Jarden since 2020, will assume responsibility for “for sourcing climate infrastructure investment opportunities and managing the diligence, structuring, and closing of transactions in New Zealand”, according to a statement.
Prior to Jarden he spent more than seven years working in Australia with Global Infrastructure Partners. BlackRock bought the US-headquartered Global Infrastructure Partners this January for US$12.5 billion (comprised of US$3 billion in cash and 12 million shares) in a deal due to settle in the September quarter.
Last year BlackRock revealed plans to create a $2 billion climate fund in association with the-then Labour-led government.