On one of Larry Fink’s frequent trips to Australia, the BlackRock Inc. chief sized up a boutique finance firm run by an Olympic swimming champ — a prelude to a A$25 million ($16.5 million) play to crack open one of the world’s richest retirement systems.
Though the stake was one of Fink’s quieter deals this year, it put BlackRock squarely in the game. Wall Street rivals such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are racing to expand across the country, drawn by a paradox few markets can match: enormous household wealth coupled with a chronic shortage of financial advisers.
Goldman, BlackRock Rush to Fill Wealth-Advice Void in Australia
