This should get some attention. What happens when investment behemoth Blackrock (with $6.44 trillion in assets) teams with tech titan Microsoft? A new retirement planning, saving and spending initiative, apparently.
While short on specifics, the companies—the largest in the world in their respective fields—are exploring the development of a new platform that helps people develop better saving and investing habits through more regular engagement with their assets.
“Technology is already revolutionizing entire industries and the way people interact with everything from health care to education and transportation,” the companies note. “And yet, retirement solutions of today have been slow to keep pace.”
Taking advantage of Microsoft’s technologies and BlackRock’s investment products, the companies aim to make it easier for people to save for retirement and achieve the lifetime income (read guaranteed products/annuities) they need through their employers’ workplace savings plan.
“The traditional pension system that generations of workers depended on for lifetime income has been upended, leaving millions of people with the responsibility to plan for and fund their own retirement. Today, many people are struggling with the difficult tasks of saving, investing and spending their own retirement assets.”
The companies brought out the big guns for the announcement.
“Today millions of Americans are struggling to achieve their financial goals for retirement,” Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, said in a statement. “Together with BlackRock we will apply the power of the cloud and AI to introduce new solutions that address this important challenge and reimagine retirement planning.”
“Retirement systems worldwide are under stress, and providing financial security to retirees has become one of the most defining societal challenges of our time,” Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, added. “BlackRock has a tremendous responsibility to help solve this challenge, and we recognize the need to act now. Working with Microsoft will enable us to build a powerful solution for millions of hardworking Americans.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
