BlackRock has announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Preqin, an independent provider of private markets data. This transaction strengthens BlackRock’s ability to serve clients’ whole portfolios — across public and private markets — by combining investment, technology, and data solutions in one platform, according to a media statement by the asset manager.
Following the transaction, Preqin founder Mark O’Hare has joined BlackRock as a vice chair.
O’Hare commented: “For decades, investors in private markets have lacked the robust data they need to make fully informed decisions and incorporate private assets into their portfolios at scale. By marrying Preqin with BlackRock’s technology offering, we are even better placed to tackle this challenge and help clients build more diverse, resilient portfolios by delivering the transparency and insights they seek.”
Preqin’s platform covers 210,000 funds and has over 220,000 users, including asset managers, insurers, pensions, wealth managers, banks, and other service providers.
Preqin will remain available as a standalone solution, while joint customers will benefit immediately from product integrations, such as access to Preqin benchmarks within Aladdin. Over time, BlackRock will integrate Preqin’s proprietary data and research tools with Aladdin and eFront.
This unification of data, research, and investment processes will transform private markets investing across fundraising, deal sourcing, portfolio management, accounting, and performance reporting, according to BlackRock.
Rob Goldstein, BlackRock’s chief operating officer, said: “Today clients are seeking a ‘common language’ for investing that requires better data to drive investment decisions, manage risk, and construct portfolios. With Preqin, a part of BlackRock, we will seek to meet this need, accelerating clients’ ability to allocate to the growth of private markets and furthering our aspirations to deliver greater value across their whole portfolios.”
Private markets are a fast-growing segment of global investing, with alternative assets projected to reach $30trn by the end of the decade, according to Preqin data. Institutional and wealth investors are increasing allocations to these markets as they seek to optimise returns and diversify their long-term capital, “yet these allocations have been artificially limited by a lack of transparency,” noted BlackRock.
Sudhir Nair, global head of Aladdin, said: “We are on a journey to make private markets more accessible and transparent for clients through data and technology. Today, this ambition takes another leap forward with the addition of Preqin’s data, benchmarks, and analytics capabilities.”
