Nominations Open for aiCIO Industry Innovation Awards 2011

(June 14, 2011) — Nominations are now open for aiCIO‘s second annual Industry Innovation Awards for asset owners and asset managers/servicers.

Nominations are open to all and will remain so until September 1. On September 15, asset management/servicing category winners and asset owner finalists will be announced. Awards — for both asset owners and asset managers/servicers — will be given at a dinner at Chelsea Piers in New York City on Thursday, December 1.

Nominate asset owner categories here. Be they endowments, foundations, pension, insurance, or sovereign wealth funds, we feel that these institutional investors deserve to be recognized in front of their peers. What do these awards mean? They mean innovation — not just for the sake of it, but for the greater preservation of capital. They mean understanding, and acting upon, material risks in today’s markets. They mean long-term, consistent results — and establishing a solid foundation for future returns. They mean understanding the goal at hand, and marshaling all available resources to meet that goal. They mean many things, brought together within a small number of funds that can truly be considered Industry Innovators.

Categories for asset owners include:

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Best-in-Class Endowment (below $1 billion in assets)
Best-in-Class Endowment (above $1 billion in assets)
Best-in-Class Foundation
Best-in-Class Corporate Pension (below $5 billion in assets)
Best-in-Class Corporate Pension (above $5 billion in assets)
Best-in-Class Public Pension (below $15 billion)
Best-in-Class Public Pension (above $15 billion)
Best-in-Class Insurance General Account Management
Best-in-Class Sovereign Wealth Fund

Nominate asset manager/servicer categories here. What does innovation mean in relation to the vendors who call themselves leaders? It means finding new solutions — not just for the sake of it, but for the preservation of capital. It means understanding, and acting upon, material risks that will affect the end users. It means long-term, consistent results — and establishing a solid foundation for future returns for clients. It means understanding the goal at hand, and cost-effectively marshaling all available resources to meet that goal. And it means communicating all this with the end users of these services in an attempt to truly be categorized as Industry Innovators.

Categories for asset managers/servicers include:

CORE INVESTMENT
Fixed-Income (US)
Fixed-Income (Non-US)
Equities (US)
Equities (Non-US)
Emerging Markets Debt
Emerging Markets Equities
Exchange Traded Funds

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT
Private Equity
Hedge Fund
Real Estate

STRATEGY & TACTICS
Strategic Beta Management (includes risk parity products)
Tactical Risk Management (includes tail hedging products)

LDI
Investment Outsourcing

SERVICING
Transition Management
Securities Lending
Custody
Consultants
Foreign Exchange

HOLISTIC
Overall Pension/E&F/SWF Solutions Unit

NOTE: For both asset owner and asset management/servicer categories, the only information we require is the name and contact information of the nominator; you DO NOT have to nominate a fund in each category. Nominator information will be kept strictly confidential.

Click here to view last year’s awards. A photo gallery of aiCIO‘s 2010 Industry Innovation Awards can also be found here.

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BlackRock, the world’s biggest money manager, has hired Terrence Keeley to lead a unit overseeing relations with sovereign funds and central banks.

(June 13, 2011) — As BlackRock aims to double assets with sovereign funds and central banks, Terrence Keeley has joined BlackRock as managing director and head of the firm’s official institution’s group.

“We’re delighted to be bringing an executive of Terry’s caliber to BlackRock,” Robert Fairbairn, Senior Managing Director and Head of BlackRock’s Global Client Group, said in a statement. “Terry’s depth of experience and deep understanding of sovereign markets significantly enhances our ability to offer official institutions customized investment solutions.”

In the newly created position, Keeley will be responsible for overseeing the development of the relationships and services of BlackRock, which manages $3.65 trillion in assets.

Keeley will also play a role in supporting the design and execution of the BlackRock Investment Institute. Launched earlier this year, the Institute is a global platform designed to leverage the firm’s expertise in markets, asset classes and investor segments to generate investment insights that drive enhanced investment performance for clients, the firm stated.

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Based in New York City, Keeley will report jointly to Fairbairn and Lee Kempler, Managing Director and the Executive Director of the Investment Institute.

“During the financial crisis, BlackRock established itself as the go-to firm for sovereign and private institutions alike,” Keeley noted in a release. “Now, with the integration of Barclays Global Investors complete, BlackRock serves the interests and needs of official institutions like no other global investment manager. I am also thrilled to be joining BlackRock’s Investment Institute, an industry-leading initiative that is shaping global dialogues on the most important investment issues of our day.”

To contact the <em>aiCIO</em> editor of this story: Paula Vasan at <a href='mailto:pvasan@assetinternational.com'>pvasan@assetinternational.com</a>; 646-308-2742