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Before you proceed, please take a moment to review and accept the following Terms and Conditions.
This section includes investor type descriptions for professional clients and market counterparties.
Professional client
A Professional Client is either: (i) a ‘deemed’ professional client; (ii) serviced-based professional client; or (iii) an assessed professional Client
(i) Deemed Professional Client
A person is a “deemed” professional client if the person is:
- a supranational organisation whose members are either countries, central banks or national monetary authorities
• a government, government agency, central bank or other national monetary authority of any country or jurisdiction
• a public authority or state investment body
• an Authorised Market Institution, Regulated Exchange or regulated clearing house
• a Regulated Financial Institution or the management company of a regulated pension fund;
• a Collective Investment Fund or a regulated pension fund;
• a corporate body whose shares are listed or admitted to trading on any exchange of an IOCSO member country
• trustee of a trust which has, or had during the previous 12 months, assets of at least $10 million;
• a Single Family Office licensed under the Single Family Office Regulations
• a person classified as a ‘large undertaking’ who meetstwoof the following criteria (i) a balance sheet total of at least $20 million; (ii) a net annual turnover of at least $40 million or (iii) own funds or called up capital of at least $2 million
(ii) Service-based Professional Clients
A person is a ‘serviced-based’ professional client if
- the services provided to the client is in relation to the provision of credit including arranging and/or advising on credit
• the services provided to the client relates to corporate structuring and financing such as advice relating to an acquisition, disposal, structuring, restructuring, financing or refinancing of a corporation or other legal entity i.e. takeovers, mergers and capital raising
(iii) Assessed-based Professional Clients
Assessed-based professional clients can be either (i) individuals; or (ii) undertakings
Individuals
An individual (and associated joint account holders) would be classified as an ‘assessed-based professional client’ if:
- the individual (and primary account holder, if relevant) has net assets of at least $1 million; and
• the individual is, or has been, an employee of an authorised firm or a regulated financial institution in the past two years; or
• the individual can provide evidence which demonstrates that they have sufficient knowledge and experience of relevant markets, products and associated risks
Where there is a joint account in place, the secondary account holder must obtain confirmation in writing that investment decisions relating to the joint account are made for or on behalf of the secondary account holder
Undertakings
Undertakings, which are generally not individuals, would be classified as ‘assessed-based’ professional clients if it:
- has own funds or called up capital of at least $1 million; and
• can evidence that they have sufficient knowledge and experience of relevant markets, products and associated risks
Market counterparties
A Market Counterparty is any person who is either:
- authorised firm;
• regulated financial institution; or
• professional client
Capital at risk. All financial investments involve an element of risk. Therefore, the value of the investment and the income from it will vary and the initial investment amount cannot be guaranteed.
Alternative investments are essential
New to alternative investing? Here are a few key terms and how we define them at BlackRock. Already investing in alternatives?
What is alternative investing?
Alternative investments are assets that don’t fall into traditional categories such as stocks, bonds, or cash. They provide a counterweight for portfolio diversification – and some hard assets can effectively hedge against inflation.
What are the types of alternative investments?
There are two main types of alternative investments. First are private assets such as private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate. They are more complex and less frequently traded than public stocks and bonds – and give investors access to additional sources of return. Hedge funds are the second type.
What is private equity?
Private equity refers to capital not listed on a public exchange. Institutional and retail investors provide the capital for private equity, investing directly into private companies or engaging in buyouts that delist public equity.
What is private credit?
Private credit (sometimes referred to as “direct lending” or “private lending”) is an alternative to bank lending for businesses that want to raise capital. Private credit is a debt that is not issued or traded on the public markets.
What are hedge funds
Hedge funds are the second in type of alternative investments and represent a core pillar of our alternatives platform at BlackRock. They are pooled investment funds that are actively managed using complex trading techniques in an attempt to improve performance. These may include leverage, short selling, and derivatives.
What are real assets?
Our real assets teams help clients target their investments toward either real estate or infrastructure – helping meet their investment goals by providing a distinct range of well-defined, outcome-oriented strategies along the risk-return spectrum.
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BlackRock is tomorrow’s alternatives platform
As alternative investments become increasingly critical, we continue to evolve and innovate our alternatives platform – leveraging our technology, our scale, and our fiduciary model to better serve our clients now and in the future.
$9.5
Over $9.5B managed in sustainable alternative investment strategies with 30+ ESG champions1
$326
Our $326B alternatives platform seeks to deliver outperformance with true partnership1
$23
Alternatives are expected to reach $23T AUM by 20262
Source
1. BlackRock as of 30 December 2022, Client assets include AUM and non-fee-paying uninvested commitments (i.e., committed capital/dry powder) from (i) BLK Core Alternatives, which includes Direct Hedge Funds managed across BLK’s investment platform and (ii) liquid credit assets. “Core Alternatives” means the “Alternatives” AUM reported in BLK’s form 10-K and 10-Q, excluding currencies and commodities. All amounts in USD.
2. Preqin. Annualized AUM as of 30/6/2021, except Hedge Funds data which is from HFR Industry Reports as of 31/10/2021. $23T AUM estimate from 12/1/2022 Preqin “Alternatives in 2022” Report. All dollar figures are in USD. Forecasts are not guaranteed and subject to change.
3. 2022 year-end annualised figure.
4. Figures refer to efront platform , 30 December 2022
Explore alternative investment strategies at BlackRock
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BlackRock private equity platform
Private equity is an essential element of investors’ portfolios. Our platform takes a holistic approach to investors’ private equity portfolios and is designed to offer strategies and solutions that align with client objectives and deliver persistent outperformance.
BlackRock private credit platform
Discover leveraged finance, multi-strategy, and credit solutions across both public and private credit markets – powered by our global platform.
BlackRock real assets platform (real estate and infrastructure)
Our real assets teams help clients target their investments toward either real estate or infrastructure – helping meet their investment goals by providing a distinct range of well-defined, outcome-oriented strategies along the risk-return spectrum.
BlackRock hedge fund platform
With over twenty years of proven experience, our hedge fund platform is differentiated in its combination of skill and scale – delivering solutions span geographies, asset classes and styles.
Meet our alternatives team
The BlackRock Alternatives team of 1400+ dedicated professionals partners with the firm’s multidisciplinary teams and leverages extensive company-wide resources in an effort to deliver consistent returns over the long term.
Leadership
Edwin N. Conway
Global Head of BlackRock Alternatives
Edwin N. Conway, is responsible for BlackRock’s alternatives strategy and the delivery of the firm’s alternatives investments to institutional clients.
Let us help you build a more resilient portfolio
Through our BlackRock Portfolio Analysis and Solutions (BPAS) consultancy services, we’ve partnered with over 800 investors¹ to deliver innovative solutions and insights that help solve their client portfolio challenges. Discover some of the ways we could support your investment decisions.
1BlackRock Portfolio Analysis and Solutions from Jan 2018 – May 2021
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