The trustees of Morgan Advanced Materials' pension schemes - The Morgan Pension Scheme and The Morgan Group Senior Staff Pension and Life Assurance Scheme - have appointed BlackRock as fiduciary manager for their combined assets of around £200 million.

BlackRock will be responsible for the design and implementation of the schemes' overall investment strategy, which is aligned with both the existing funding plan and the longer term objectives of the schemes.

An active approach to tactical asset allocation will be adopted, with the schemes' funds invested in a range of asset classes and strategies including equity, credit, real estate, and diversified growth.

Phil Wright, chair of the Morgan Pension Schemes, said: "The Trustees are, at all times, conscious of our primary duty to ensure that scheme members receive the benefits promised to them.

"A key aspect of achieving this is to ensure that the investment strategy achieves the required level of return, commensurate with an appropriate level of investment risk.

Mr Wright added that, in conjunction with the investment consultant, BlackRock carried out extensive research and due diligence during the appointment process.

He said he is "confident" that its expertise will help the company navigate the current market conditions to deliver the returns required to meet its future liabilities.

Graham Jung, managing director of BlackRock's institutional business, said: "We believe fiduciary management offers a robust solution by combining strategy, manager selection, tactical investment and ongoing monitoring, with clear responsibility and accountability.

"We look forward to bringing the best of BlackRock together to deliver the agreed strategy for the benefit of the membership of the Morgan Advanced Materials schemes."

BlackRock manages GBP 41 billion of client assets in European fiduciary mandates.

First published 12.03.2015

Lindsay.sharman@wilmingtonplc.co.uk