BlackRock has hired Mark Long as director of research within its real estate team based in London.

Long will oversee research and strategy for the asset manager's £2.1 billion ($3.26 billion) BlackRock UK Property Fund as well as other real estate accounts managed in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Earlier in his career, he worked for Invista, Aberdeen Asset Management and Investment Property Databank.

In other recent European news at the US asset management giant, at the end of last month Roland Arnold was appointed as co-manager of BlackRock's UK Special Situations Fund.

Also in July, the New York-listed company said its assets under management stood at $3.56 trillion at the end June, down 3 per cent on the previous quarter as well as the same period last year. The decline was driven by $94.7 billion of negative market movements across its investment products.