Jio Financial Services, BlackRock expand partnership to offer wealth, brokerage services

Jio Financial Services (JFS) has signed a joint venture with American financial heavyweight BlackRock to provide wealth management and brokerage services in India, building on their formative partnership with an asset management company.

"This joint venture further strengthens the Company’s relationship with Blackrock, Inc., with whom the Company had announced a 50:50 joint venture on July 26, 2023 to transform India’s asset management industry through a digital-first offering and democratise access to investment solutions for investors in India," JFS said in a regulatory filing.

The financial arm of Reliance Industries was demerged from the parent entity last year and is now listed separately on the BSE and NSE. After the demerger, JFS formed a 50:50 joint venture with BlackRock, infusing $150 million from each into asset management company Jio BlackRock.

Jio Financial Services has also applied to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to convert into a core investment company from a non-banking financial company (NBFC).

As per the RBI website, a systemically important core investment company, or a core investment company, is a type of NBFC with an asset size of Rs 100 crore or more and primarily engages in acquiring shares and securities. The company should hold at least 90% of its net assets in the form of investments in group companies, which can include equity shares, preference shares, bonds, debentures, or loans.