Godfrey’s departure was announced this morning following two days of turmoil in which the likes of Schroders and M&G Investments were reported to be dissatisfied and therefore mulling an exit from the industry body.
As the world’s biggest asset manager by AUM, BlackRock’s continued membership of the IA is crucial to its credibility.
BlackRock has representation on the IA board through the appointment last month of its head of EMEA retail Alex Hoctor-Duncan as a director.
Whether Godfrey’s departure and Guy Sears’ elevation to interim CEO changes the situation from the point of view of BlackRock or any other asset management firms is yet to become clear.
However keeping a firm with the scale and influence of BlackRock on side would certainly go a long way towards steadying the ship for the IA.
