The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

BlackRock, Phenix Capital Group
New York headquartered asset manager BlackRock is collaborating with PCG Impact, the advisory arm of Amsterdam-based impact investing specialist Phenix Capital Group. Their aim is to help clients build and manage impact portfolios that seek to generate sustainable outcomes alongside financial returns, the firm said in a statement.

The collaboration brings together BlackRock’s expertise in portfolio construction, implementation, risk management and oversight with PCG Impact’s specialist research on more than 3,000 impact fund managers globally, plus its advisory and reporting capabilities. The offering is available to institutional investors, including pension funds, family offices, endowments and foundations, through both outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) portfolios and custom impact mandates.

According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), impact investing assets sit at around $1.6 trillion globally, with client demand continuing to grow. As the impact market matures, many institutional investors are seeking impact investments with measurable sustainability-related outcomes, credible reporting and the same governance and performance standards that they apply to the rest of their portfolio. Meeting those needs requires access to specialist opportunities, strong manager research and a flexible portfolio approach that can reflect each client’s financial and impact objectives.

Through a single, integrated framework – supported by BlackRock’s proprietary risk platform, Aladdin® – investors can access a broader universe of impact opportunities while benefiting from end-to-end portfolio design, implementation, monitoring and robust reporting. The collaboration will help clients define impact objectives and investment parameters, identify suitable strategies across asset classes, and embed reporting within existing governance frameworks, the firm added.

“A growing number of investors, particularly in Europe, want to pursue impact objectives alongside long-term financial returns,” Sarju Mehta, head of Investment Solutions, EMEA, Multi-Asset Strategies and Solutions at BlackRock, said. “Through our collaboration with PCG Impact, we are helping interested clients access a broader universe of impact opportunities and build portfolios that are designed around their objectives.”