Asset management giant BlackRock, Inc. announced that it has completed its merger with Barclays Global Investors, including BGI’s iShares exchange traded fund business.

The combined firm will operate under the BlackRock name and the iShares brand will continue to be used. Additionally, with the closing of the merger, BlackRock announced that John Varley, group chief executive of Barclays plc, and Robert Diamond Jr., president of Barclays, have joined BlackRock’s board.

“Beginning today, we move forward as one global firm, operating independently, focused solely on investment and risk management on behalf of our clients. We manage approximately $3.2 trillion on behalf of institutional and retail investors worldwide. We offer truly differentiated capabilities – active, enhanced and index products – and the most talented professionals, able to identify investment opportunities, develop innovative investment solutions, and capture the benefits of scale for clients,” commented Laurence Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and CEO.

Macquarie Group closes acquisition

In other industry M&A news, Macquarie Group announced that it has closed its acquisition of Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller, enhancing Macquarie’s global financial institutions specialist group and boosting its relevance to financial institutions and corporates around the world.

Roy Laidlaw, global head of Macquarie Securities Group, said, “The highly regarded FPK team now forms a key part of Macquarie’s client offering to financial institutions. It continues our build out of global sector specialization to include FIG, one of the largest sectors, to our existing specialist sectoral approach in resources and commodities, property, infrastructure, energy and quant.”