Global fund manager BlackRock plans to start trading platform

NEW YORK: Leading global fund manager BlackRock plans to start an internal trading platform next year, a step that could impact the profits of many Wall Street players, according to a media report.

"BlackRock, the world's largest money manager, expects to launch an internal trading platform next year in a move that would strike at the heart of the profit centres of many Wall Street firms," British daily Financial Times has reported.

The publication noted the company is hiring programmers and other high-tech workers to build the platform.

Quoting BlackRock President Rob Kapito, the daily said, "We are developing the technology in-house to offer better value by lowering trading costs".

The plan is that if some BlackRock clients are selling a security and others are buying, the group can cross those trades internally without going through a Wall Street bank, the report said.

However, BlackRock has insisted the plan is not meant to marginalise Wall Street.

"Few other fund managers have the size of BlackRock, which has USD 3,450 billion of assets under management...," the daily noted.

BlackRock Solutions division provides infrastructure and risk analytics for more than 200 institutions with a combined USD 10,000 billion of assets.