BlackRock Co-Founder to Retire as Vice Chair

Susan L. Wagner, a co-founding partner of BlackRock Inc., will retire at the end of June.

Wagner has been elected to the Board of Directors of BlackRock, which has $3.7 trillion in assets under management. She also will continue to serve as a director of DSP BlackRock Investment Managers, the firm’s joint venture in India.

Wagner, 51, co-founded the company in 1988 and has been a vice chair since 2006. She serves as a member of BlackRock’s Global Executive Committee and Global Operating Committee. Previously, she was the firm’s chief operating officer and head of corporate strategy, and led BlackRock’s international client and alternative investments businesses.

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Wagner has been included in Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” for the past three years, has been named as one of the “Top 50 Women to Watch” by the Financial Times and has been ranked twice on the “50 Most Powerful Women in New York” list by Crain’s New York Business. Among other roles at BlackRock, Wagner has been the Global Executive Sponsor of the firm’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), which has been integral to engaging and fostering the potential of women at BlackRock.

“Sue’s influence has also been felt far beyond BlackRock,” said Laurence D. Fink, chairman and chief executive of BlackRock. “Her innovations in structured finance earlier in her career set a new direction for our industry, and Sue has been a pioneer, role model and mentor for both women and men in our firm and across our industry.”

Wagner has a bachelor’s degree in English and economics from Wellesley College, and a master’s of business administration in finance from the University of Chicago. Wagner is a member of the Board of Trustees of Wellesley College and the Hackley School.

 

Morningstar Rolls Out Alternative Mutual Fund Ratings

Morningstar Inc. released Morningstar Analyst Ratings and Global Fund Reports for approximately 40 alternative U.S. mutual funds, representing about 75% of the alternative fund universe by assets.

 

Analysts evaluate the funds on numeric factors as well as qualitative factors including people, process, parent, performance and price. They then rate the funds on a five-tiered scale. From highest analyst conviction level to lowest, the ratings are gold, silver, bronze, neutral and negative.

“The strategies employed in alternative funds are often new and sometimes complex,” said Nadia Papagiannis, director of Morningstar’s alternative fund research and editor of Alternative Investments Observer. “Our goal with the Analyst Ratings and Global Fund Reports is to help institutions and advisers research and compare funds as they continue to seek diversification through alternative investments.”  

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The Morningstar Analyst Rating for alternative mutual funds and the analysis are available on Morningstar.com and MorningstarAdvisor.com. The new Analyst Ratings, supporting analysis, and Global Fund Reports are also available in Morningstar Direct and in Morningstar Office.

Over the next year, the company plans to increase alternatives coverage to approximately 100 funds.

 

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