BlackRock creates U.S. retirement group led by Chip Castille

BlackRock Inc. is creating a dedicated U.S. retirement group and placing Chip Castille, the head of its defined-contribution business, at the helm, the company said Thursday. The U.S. retirement group will focus on the issues facing those who are saving for retirement and will engage with clients — and in the national discourse generally — to try to devise solutions, he said in an interview. “We decided to expand the responsibility of the defined-contributions business to take responsibility for the retirement theme,” Mr. Castille said. “This means talking about these issues and how we can engage with them. It also means developing a suite of capabilities and services around the existing products that we have.” In addition, the group will focus on the specific needs of the DC and individual retirement account markets and try to come up with ways to better serve those markets, Mr. Castille said. He will continue to oversee the DC business while taking on this new responsibility, which will involve working across multiple divisions within BlackRock. Bruce Wolfe will serve as the U.S retirement group's chief operating officer, according to BlackRock's internal announcement. “The retirement crisis has many manifestations,” Rob Fairbairn, head of BlackRock's iShares and retail units, said in the statement. “Individuals aren't saving enough. Pension plans are underfunded … traditional sources of income are not available for retirees,” Mr. Fairbairn said. “And through it all, people are living longer,” he said. “We need to do more to help our clients address these issues.”