BlackRock [profile] may be the biggest asset manager in the world but it doesn't lead with mutual fund assets in 401(k) plans, trailing Fidelity [profile] and Vanguard [profile] , Bloomberg's Margaret Collins and Alexia Leondis write. To move into a more retail space, BlackRock has launched ten indexes and five funds designed to appeal to investors saving for retirement.

Bloomberg's two reporters write that the indexes will let aspiring retirees calculate how much their savings will equal in annual income when they reach 65. Meanwhile, the five investment-grade bond mutual funds will be linked to the indexes, which adjust for variables including interest rates, inflation and assumptions about lifespans.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink began a campaign to build BlackRock's brand and shook up leadership in an effort to improve fund performance, Collins and Leondis write. Fidelity enjoys an 11 percent market share in open-end mutual funds and American Funds boasts 12 percent, but BlackRock has less than 2 percent, according to Morningstar data gathered in the Bloomberg report.

BlackRock's indexes allows investors, usually starting at age 55, to select the fund that corresponds to the year they expect to need retirement income, Collins and Leondis report.

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Edited by: Casey Quinlan


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