The demerged financial lending arm of the Reliance conglomerate, Jio Financial Services Limited (JFS) and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, have joined hands to set up an asset management company as a joint venture (JV). 

In a joint statement on July 26, the two companies announced that the 50:50 JV, named Jio BlackRock, would deliver “tech-enabled access to affordable, innovative investment solutions for millions of investors in India.”

Jio BlackRock will be established with a combined investment of $300 million, with each partner investing $150 million or approximately Rs 1,235 crore. It will synergise BlackRock’s investment management, risk management, and technology expertise with Jio Financial Services’ local market knowledge and digital infrastructure. 

After receiving regulatory and statutory approvals, the JV will launch operations with its independent management team. 

Jio BlackRock will be the 44th player in the Rs 44.39 lakh crore Indian mutual fund industry, with HDFC Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund currently dominating the market. 

The move will mark BlackRock’s re-entry into the market after its exit in 2018. Earlier, it quit DSP BlackRock Investment Managers because, being a minority stakeholder with 40% equity, it could not integrate the business onto its operating platform.

Hitesh Sethia, President and Chief Executive of JFS, said that the partnership would leverage the technology capability and deep market expertise of Jio Financial and BlackRock’s deep expertise in investment and risk management to drive the digital delivery of products.

“Jio BlackRock will place the combined strength and scale of both of our companies in the hands of millions of investors in India,” said Rachel Lord, Chair and Head of Asia Pacific (APAC), BlackRock.