After AMC business, Jio and BlackRock in JV for wealth management, broking

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Months after setting up the asset management joint venture, Jio Financial Services and BlackRock Group have entered into 50:50 JV for wealth management and broking businesses.

“The company (Jio Financial), BlackRock, Inc. and BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte. Ltd. have signed an agreement to form a 50:50 joint venture between the company and Blackrock, for the purpose of undertaking wealth business including incorporation of a wealth management company and subsequent incorporation of a brokerage company in India,” Jio Financial said in a release.

This joint venture further strengthens Jio’s relationship with Blackrock, Inc., it said, adding that the launch for both the businesses is subject to regulatory approval.

Jio and BlackRock had announced setting up a JV for asset management business in India in July 2023. In October 2023, Jio Financial and BlackRock Management filed papers for their mutual fund with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The application was under consideration for the regulator’s “in-principle approval” as of December 2023.

The companies had then committed an initial investment of $150 million each into the JV, with the aim of transforming India’s asset management industry through a digital-first offering and democratising access to investment solutions.

BlackRock Asset Managers is one of the world’s largest asset managers. It previously operated in India in a JV with the DSP Group through DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund. The partnership ended in 2018, following which BlackRock announced its plans to re-enter India with Jio Financial.