BlackRock hires from BT

Rachel Friend has landed at BlackRock as vice president and relationship manager within the asset manager's wealth client business team.

Reporting to Chantal Giles, head of wealth Australasia, Friend is responsible for supporting clients across the local wealth market, including BlackRock's whole portfolio clients in Australia and New Zealand.

"This appointment reflects the continued growth of BlackRock's whole portfolio business," a spokesperson said.

Friend joins from BT Financial Group, where she was employed within the investment management arm of BT to manage stakeholder relationships.

Specifically, her role is to manage the external research house, consulting, and strategic partner relationships.

Friend started her career at the Commonwealth Bank in 2009, working in foreign exchange. After a short spell on the sales and trading desk at a small brokerage house, she returned to Australia's largest lender in 2014 as a client services account manager.

After that, Friend was an Australian equities analyst in the CommSec investment management team until 2018 when she joined the CBA's wealth management business to service the bank-aligned licensees.