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Welcome to the BlackRock site for wealth managers
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. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested.
Alternative investments are essential
New to alternative investing? Here are a few key terms and how we define them at BlackRock.
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 may effectively hedge against inflation.
What are the types of alternative investments?
There is private market investing, in assets like private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate, which are traded less frequently than public assets and may offer potential additional returns. And liquid alternatives - hedge funds and listed funds investing in underlying private markets assets.
What is private equity?
Private equity (PE) refers to investments in non-publicly listed private companies. Investors provide the capital to PE funds, which is then invested into these companies, to add value through strategies like geographic expansion, strategic acquisitions, cost optimisation or long-term strategic planning.
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 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 estate & infrastructure?
Real estate (RE) & infrastructure are investments that provide direct ownership of nonfinancial assets, such as infrastructure traditionally controlled by the public sector or real estate. They can be accessed via private markets or listed equity markets.
2025 Private Markets Outlook
In BlackRock’s 2025 Private Markets Outlook, our investors discuss the past year for each asset class and explore where each one is going in terms of specific opportunities, the current risks, and some of the shifts that make this a unique time for private markets investors.
BlackRock is tomorrow’s alternatives platform
As alternative investments have 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.
$326
Our $326B alternatives platform seeks to deliver outperformance with true partnership1
Increase5000
A firmwide network of 5,000+ investment individuals2
Source
1Source: BlackRock, 30 June 2024.
2Source: Number of professionals include all employees except contingent workers and interns as of 31 March 2024.
3Source: BlackRock, 20 August 2024.
4Source: Figure refers to eFront platform While proprietary technology platforms may help manage risk, risk cannot be eliminated.
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 estate and infrastructure platform
Our 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 experience, our hedge fund platform uses a combination of skill and scale – which aims to deliver solutions spanning geographies, asset classes and styles.
Multi-alternative portfolio management solutions
The BlackRock’s multi-alternative portfolio management team constructs outcome-oriented private market portfolios on behalf of their clients, leveraging both top-down and bottom-up capabilities.
The team brings active portfolio management to private markets, combining quantitative and fundamental approaches to manage risk and assess relative value.
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