Five plant pot
FIXED INCOME

Liability-driven investing (LDI)

BlackRock brings decades of experience in liability-driven investing. Designing and executing investment strategies to reflect specific liability hedging objectives is a core part of our success in managing assets for pension, insurance and other institutional clients.

Why BlackRock for LDI?

As defined benefit pension funds embark on their end journey, designing an effective de-risking plan becomes ever more crucial. Our liability-driven investment platform offers defined benefit pension funds the power and flexibility of one of the most comprehensive fixed income businesses in the world, combined with proprietary asset-liability focused technology.

Investment expertise
Investment expertise
We have over 25 years’ experience as an LDI manager & adviser, 40+ investment experts across a range of backgrounds, and derivative documentation with 35+ counterparties.
Transparency & Technology
Transparency & Technology
Using our industry-leading Aladdin® technology allows for holistic management of all derivative exposures, increasing accuracy in hedging and transparency on the risks faced.
Partnership
Partnership
We understand your challenges and will guide you in the best approach to solve them.
Cost efficient
Cost efficient
We leverage our deep counterparty relationships to reduce execution costs - using a full toolkit of gilt repo financing capabilities and dynamic management of repo term.

Overview of our UK LDI capabilities

Our expansive platform has been designed to help you create customised solutions for your unique pension journey and is underpinned by a range of fixed income investment strategies that seek to meet a wide range of pension fund objectives.

 Partnership
Passive LDI

Passive LDI

A passively managed portfolio reflecting the preferred valuation approach for liabilities (such as gilts based or swaps based), with ongoing management of derivative counterparty and financing exposure including collateral management.

Sustainability
Buy and Enhance LDI

Buy and Enhance LDI

A portfolio where BlackRock evaluate market conditions and implement trades to enhance the portfolio assuming an investment horizon up to the term of the liabilities, seeking to add value with a low basis risk.

Upwards momentum
Discretionary LDI

Discretionary LDI

A discretionary managed portfolio aiming to generate outperformance over time.

Phased instrument selection: switching between gilts and swaps based on their relative value, seeking to add value longer term.

Active: taking diversified active risk positions, seeking additional sources of return beyond market beta.

Waterfall
Integrated LDI

Integrated LDI

A multi-sector mandate where a range of cash flow generative assets are managed together to enhance collateral efficiency and simplify governance.

These mandates can comprise of directly held assets (government bonds, investment grade credit, swaps) and less liquid strategies (multi-strategy credit, private debt and secure income assets).

Industry
Ancillary Services

Ancillary Services

Efficiently incorporating additional strategies alongside an LDI mandate:

• Securities lending
• Liability cashflow analysis
• Synthetic credit
• Synthetic equity
• Currency & overseas rates hedging
• Equity options / swaptions
• Longevity swap collateralization
• Execution services

Latest insights from the LDI team

Keep the plan? The case for running-on defined benefit pension schemes

For UK defined benefit schemes, strong funding positions and regulatory changes have put focus on endgame planning. With multiple options available to schemes such as insurance buy out or self-sufficiency, our latest whitepaper explores the case for running-on.

We discuss what run-on is and who it is likely suitable for.
woman running on stairs

Views from the LDI desk

Read our latest commentary from the LDI team, who provide updates on the most pressing subjects affecting pension schemes and the wider economy.
Views from the LDI desk

ESG integration in LDI

We believe we have a fiduciary duty to invest on our clients’ behalf to help them meet their investment objectives. Our engagement with external parties and the integration of ESG in our LDI solutions attest to our focus on ESG issues, within an investment context.
ESG integration in LDI

Meet the UK LDI leadership team

We believe our size allows us to invest in people and technology, creating comprehensive coverage and thought leadership across regions.

BlackRock has a dedicated LDI team that develops client solutions in partnership with our portfolio management teams across our fundamental, systematic and index platforms.

Richard Wood
Head of EMEA LDI
Tom Carr
Head of GBP Discretionary Portfolio Management, EMEA LDI business
Maria Daniels
Head of GBP Non-Discretionary Portfolio Management, EMEA LDI business
Tim Wong
Head of Technology and Ancillary Services, EMEA LDI business
Adam Baker
Head of UK Client Portfolio Management, EMEA LDI business
Phil Smith
Head of Research, Innovation and Sustainability, EMEA LDI business