BlackRock plans major changes to its active stockpicking business

BlackRock Inc on Tuesday said it would dramatically recast a portion of its fund management operations, conceding that the business of picking stocks has grown increasingly competitive. The world's largest asset manager said in a statement it will rebrand, or adjust investment strategies or portfolio management on about 11 percent of its $275 billion active stock fund business.
Among the changes, BlackRock is removing some seven traditionalist "Fundamental" portfolio managers from their current assignments, according to a source familiar with the matter. It was not immediately clear how many additional jobs would be affected by the changes. An industry bellwether, New York-based BlackRock also owns one of the most prized businesses in asset management, its iShares exchange-traded funds franchise.