Search activity for the second quarter of 2021 decreased 6.9% from the prior quarter and increased 50.6% from the second quarter of 2020. Service provider searches decreased 17% and equity manager searches increased 25% from the prior quarter. Notable activity for the quarter included Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites’s $3 billion search for fixed-income managers; LGPS Central's $1.4 billion search for its global equity strategy; and Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana's $1.4 billion search to hire a domestic equity manager for its large-cap growth portfolio.
Hiring activity increased 93.7% from the previous quarter to $92.74 billion. The number of hires increased 43% for the quarter and increased 23.1% from the same period a year ago. British Airways appointed BlackRock as outsourced CIO for its $30.5 billion in assets. BlackRock won 17 mandates totaling $32.3 billion for its OCIO, equity, fixed income, private equity and real estate strategies. Wellington Management Group LLP was awarded four mandates totaling $2.42 billion from New York State Common Retirement Fund and Pension Insurance Corp. for its alternative and fixed-income strategies. Hellman & Friedman received 10 mandates totaling $2.22 billion for its private equity strategies, which included a $1 billion hire by CalPERS for its Capital Partners X fund. Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board funded State Street Global Advisors with $57 billion to manage a portion of its index strategies; previously all three index strategies were managed by BlackRock.
