BLK BlackRock Inc

By Dawn Lim 

BlackRock Inc. is installing a new boss at its European stock-picking arm as the Wall Street behemoth looks to boost returns and assets in that part of its business.

The leadership change comes as stock pickers across the industry are rethinking their businesses to stem the tide of money flowing into cheaper index funds. Some of BlackRock's European stock-picking funds delivered underperformance and outflows in recent years, said a person familiar with the matter.

Nigel Bolton had been in charge of the business and investments of BlackRock's European fundamental active equities arm, which oversees roughly $60 billion. The leadership change, said the person familiar with the matter, will split responsibilities between Mr. Bolton and Becci McKinley-Rowe, a new hire from Morgan Stanley who had been head of global equity sales.

Mr. Bolton will be in charge of investments and Ms. McKinley-Rowe will run the business side, this person said. Mr. Bolton will no longer be lead manager at seven funds he previously led, this person said. Other portfolio managers will assume leadership of those funds, which hold some $3 billion, as he focuses on overseeing investments more broadly.

This isn't the first time BlackRock has revamped the operations of its actively managed equities business. It cut staffers and slashed prices for a number of funds as part of an overhaul engineered by active equities chief Mark Wiseman that was launched in 2017. It asked teams to use more computer models and data to aid investment decisions, and has called for managers to take more concentrated bets.

BlackRock became a $6.5 trillion investment giant with the rise of index funds and exchange-traded funds that track market indexes. Active equity managers, or those who generally try to beat the market, oversee about one-tenth of BlackRock's equity assets.

Stock pickers across the money-management world have lost dollars and influence to index giants as investors flocked to lower-fee products over the last decade. Many have struggled to beat the roaring bull market.

Investors' embrace of low-cost index funds has also pushed active managers to lower costs. BlackRock is cutting prices for one European fundamental equities fund, said a person familiar with the matter.

Write to Dawn Lim at dawn.lim@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 13, 2019 12:23 ET (16:23 GMT)

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