BlackRock To Acquire Analytics Software Company

Giant New York-based asset management firm BlackRock (currently at $1.364 trillion in assets under management) has announced it's buying Impact Investing, a Sydney, Australia-based software development company specializing in equity portfolio management and analytical software tools. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. BlackRock will fold Impact into its BlackRock Solutions unit, which offers tools and services designed to help institutions understand and manage their capital markets exposures and risks. Aladdin, its enterprise investment platform, combines risk analytics with portfolio management, trading and operations tools.

Impact Investing specializes in analytical software tools used by equity portfolio managers to construct portfolios and communicate their conclusions and results. Total assets directly managed using the Impact system globally exceed $1 trillion. "We look forward to incorporating Impact's functionality into Aladdin's analytics and trading capabilities and are particularly excited about the enhanced equity analysis and portfolio visualization capabilities this will provide," commented Robert Goldstein, managing director and head of relationship management for BlackRock Solutions. BlackRock has long been an Impact client.