Asia-based insurance giant AIA Group has selected BNY and BlackRock to provide a front-to-back investment platform, supporting the firm’s long-term investment programme.
Emily Portney
The agreement will see AIA implement BlackRock’s end-to-end investment management and operations platform Aladdin, alongside BNY’s specialised investment operations and data management services technology – together providing AIA with an end-to-end solution with enhanced data and analytics capability.
Emily Portney, global head of asset servicing at BNY, said: “We are proud to support AIA in enhancing their investment platform with a new data-driven operating model that will deliver critical insights, elevate the client experience and improve operational efficiency. We are also excited to continue our ongoing collaborative work with BlackRock, to deliver best-in-class solutions for our mutual clients.”
Headquartered in Hong Kong, AIA Group has a presence in 18 markets across Asia – and has total assets of $286 billion as of 31 December 2023.
Read more: BNY Mellon and BlackRock sign alliance to create front-to-back office data service
Mark Konyn, AIA Group chief investment officer, said, “This strategic collaboration brings our long-term investment programme together with an enhanced ability to deliver industry-leading investment solutions and provide positive, sustainable outcomes for our stakeholders.
“As we work with BlackRock and BNY to transform our platform, AIA will continue managing our growing investment portfolio at greater scale to meet our performance, risk management and sustainable investment goals. With the solutions we are implementing, AIA will gain a single, consistent, and timely view across all asset classes allowing us to make even more informed investments across complex market environments.”
BNY and BlackRock first agreed a strategic partnership back in 2019, with a view to providing mutual clients with real-time data insights through the investment lifecycle. The partnership was then extended in 2021 to give clients greater freedom of choice around middle-office services.
Commenting on the new mandate, Rob Goldstein, chief operating officer at BlackRock, said: “We are thrilled to engage with AIA to deliver the breadth of Aladdin across AIA’s whole portfolio, including public and private assets, along with the ability to support insurance-specific needs. We look forward to working with BNY to deliver a seamless experience to AIA.”
BlackRock’s Aladdin collected the Outstanding Trading Technology Provider award at The TRADE’s 2023 Leaders in Trading awards in London last November. This year’s event is set to take place on 7 November at the Savoy Hotel, more details here.