BlackRock has hired Vanessa Van Brunt, former executive at Wells Fargo, to head its U.S. Prime Brokerage & Alternatives Sales unit, in a move to boost the business as a number of banks look to scale back their prime services unit.
She joins a newly formed U.S. team which provides off-balance sheet solutions for prime brokers and hedge fund administrators, helping them to cope with the impact of Basel III and money market regulation on liquidity and bank balance sheets.
The unit also serves hedge funds, private equity firms, real estate funds, and venture capital firms.
Van Brunt joins from Wells Fargo where she was a director within the bank’s financial institutions division. She managed client and prospect relations, and was also responsible sales and strategy for alternative asset managers.
A number of banks such as Bank of America, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank are looking to scale back their prime finance units and achieve “client optimisation” in the face of increased costs. This is where BlackRock feel they can take advantage.
“The Prime Brokerage & Alternatives segment represents a tremendous growth opportunity for BlackRock due to regulatory changes that make certain deposits uneconomic to large banks. Her experience of selling directly to hedge funds and private equity will be invaluable as we deliver off-balance sheet solutions to funds and prime brokers,” BlackRock states.
BlackRock Eyes Prime Brokerage Push with Van Brunt Hire
BlackRock has hired Vanessa Van Brunt, former executive at Wells Fargo, to head its U.S. Prime Brokerage & Alternatives Sales unit, in a move to boost the business as a number of banks look to scale back their prime services unit.