BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A.

BlackRock was founded in 1988, initially focusing on fixed-income. The company developed early innovations in closed-end funds, trusts, and defined contribution plans to try and satisfy clients’ unmet needs. BlackRock developed the Blackstone Term Trust, raising over $1 billion and experiencing steady growth, and Aladdin®, a “unified investment platform that ultimately combines trading, risk management, and client reporting.” In just the short two years from 1992 to 1994, the company’s assets under management grew from $17 billion to $53 billion. In 1995, the company became a subsidiary of PNC financial, allowing BlackRock to utilize PNC’s large distribution network and cooperation with various PNC affiliates. However, BlackRock continued to be managed independently, merging equity, liquidity, and mutual fund activities in 1998. Blackrock focused on maintaining a coordinated platform, creating a business model that managed fixed-income, equity, and other businesses together that would be known as One BlackRock. In 2000, BlackRock created BlackRock Solutions, evolving from the Aladdin system to become an investing analytics department that has risk management as its foundation. BlackRock’s platform monitors an estimated 7 percent of the world’s financial assets, according to The Economist. By the end of 2004, the assets under management would grow to become over $342 billion. From then on, BlackRock would undergo a series of mergers that would strengthen the firm’s products and services, expanding its scale and global reach. In late 2004, BlackRock made its first major acquisition, buying State Street Research & Management Holdings for $375 million. BlackRock then merged with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in 2006 and acquired the business of Quellos Capital Management in 2007. The most significant merger was with BarClays Global Investors in 2009, adding more active, index and exchange traded fund capabilities. Today BlackRock manages almost $5 billion assets, employing over 12,000 employees in 30 countries around the globe. Since the merger, BlackRock Institutional Trust has acted as a subsidiary of Blackrock, Inc. Its mutual funds include the Global Allocation, Health Sciences Opportunities, and Science and Technology Opportunities. Its ETFs include the Global Clean Energy, Currency Hedged, and Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals.