BlackRock team to tap growing UK local government pensions market

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Blackrock (NYSE: BLK - news) , the world's largest asset manager, said on Monday it had set up a special team to service growing demand from its UK local government pension schemes (LGPS) clients.

The BlackRock Local Authority team will have a core team of five and be led by Christopher Head, BlackRock said in a statement.

"The challenges facing Local Government Pension Schemes are perhaps greater than ever," said Head (Other OTC: HEDYY - news) .

"The combination of changing economic and policy environments will have a significant impact on how local government schemes are administered and governed as well as how investment strategies are determined within the current regulatory framework."

Among the economic challenges facing pension schemes are the prolonged low-yield environment, which is hampering their ability to fund future pensioner payouts, and the impact of pension reform changes on budgeting, governance, investment decisions and administration, the statement said.

BlackRock currently provides investment management services for 73 LGPS, it said. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Nishant Kumar)