BlackRock shifts to Interactive Data bond indices
Four of BlackRock’s government bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will switch to a set of Interactive Data indices in this year’s second quarter.
The world’s largest money manager will adopt a set of indices calculated by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) subsidiary, replacing Barclays in the process.
Run by BlackRock’s iShares business, the funds are thought to collectively hold close to $35bn in assets.
The move follows a series of M&A deals in the indexing and data sector.
ICE announced its $5.2bn acquisition of Interactive Data in October, while Barclays agreed to sell its index and risk-analysis businesses to Bloomberg for $782m.
Demand for fixed income data continues to increase, in part fuelled by the growth in passive investment strategies through products such as ETFs.
In 2015, bond ETFs grew at a 22% organic growth rate as more investors use ETFs to gain exposure to fixed income markets.
BlackRock’s overall fixed income ETF business has $256bn in global assets under management.
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