Friends reunited as Osborne joins top aide in Blackrock role

Former Chancellor George Osborne is to augment his lucrative private sector income by taking a role with the world's biggest asset manager.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Osborne is join‎ing the Blackrock Investment Institute as a senior adviser, his first such role since being sacked by Theresa May last summer.

The new‎ role will effectively reunite Mr Osborne with his former top economic adviser, Rupert Harrison, who took on a senior position with Blackrock (Sao Paolo: BLAK34.SA - news) last year.

His appointment will place Mr Osborne into the heart of one of the world's most influential financial services companies.

:: Lord Hague joins Citi bank as Brexit looms

The former Chancellor is understood to have been recruited by Larry Fink, Blackrock's chairman and chief executive.

Blackrock's Investment Institute is an internal network - headed by the former Swiss central bank chief Philipp Hildebrand - which provides investment research on macroeconomic factors to the group's fund managers.

It was unclear on Friday how much Mr Osborne is to be paid for the role, but one source said it would be "at least" hundreds of thousands of pounds annually.

He has already earned a string of five-figure fees for ‎speaking engagements since stepping down as Chancellor, including at this week's World Economic Forum in Davos, where he undertook an engagement for HSBC.

The role at Blackrock Investment Institute is not incompatible with remaining as a serving MP, although Mr Osborne's appointment there will fuel speculation that he may not be keen to stay on the backbenches for a protracted period.

Blackrock could not be reached for comment.