Russ Koesterich , CFA, JD

Russ Koesterich, CFA, JD, Managing Director and portfolio manager, is a member of the Global Allocation team and the lead portfolio manager of the GA Selects Model Portfolios.

Mr. Koesterich's service with BlackRock dates back to 2005, including his years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. He joined the BlackRock Global Allocation team in 2016 as Head of Asset Allocation and was named a portfolio manager of the fund in 2017. Previously, he was BlackRock's Global Chief Investment Strategist and Chairman of the Investment Committee for the Model Portfolio Solutions business, and formerly served as the Global Head of Investment Strategy for scientific active equities and as senior portfolio manager in the US Market Neutral Group. Prior to joining BGI, Mr. Koesterich was the Chief North American Strategist at State Street Bank and Trust. He began his investment career at Instinet Research Partners where he occupied several positions in research, including Director of Investment Strategy for both U.S. and European research, and Equity Analyst. He is a frequent contributor to financials news media.

Mr. Koesterich earned a BA in history from Brandeis University, a JD from Boston College and an MBA from Columbia University. He is a CFA® Charterholder.