BlackRock Builds Private Client Business; Enters Managed Account, RIA and Financial Planner Distribution.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2002

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) today announced that it has hired four professionals to build its private client distribution capabilities.

Joining the firm are Richard Duff, Michael Hogan, Harold Clemons and Sharon Highland. The team, who previously worked together at PIMCO Allianz Investments or Nicholas Applegate, brings extensive experience in the wholesale marketing and servicing of mutual funds and managed accounts for individual investors. They will join BlackRock's Private Client Group, which is led by Anne Ackerley and is responsible for working with a broad range of financial advisors serving the needs of individual investors throughout the United States.

"Over time, BlackRock has invested to build exceptional, institutional quality investment management capabilities," remarked Laurence D. Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock. "Today's announcement demonstrates our commitment to making equally important investments in expanding our Private Client business. We welcome our newest colleagues and look forward to working with them to meet the needs of a broader universe of investors and their advisors."

Mr. Duff will serve as the Head of Private Client Distribution with responsibility for enhancing and expanding BlackRock's wholesale distribution strategies and relationships and for managing the firm's internal and external wholesalers who offer the BlackRock Funds family, closed-end funds and managed accounts through broker dealers, RIAs and financial planners. He was formerly the National Sales Manager with Nicholas Applegate and, most recently, was a Managing Director with Forward Management. Messrs. Hogan and Clemons will work with Mr. Duff and focus on expanding the firm's relationships with national and regional broker dealers, 401(k) platforms, RIAs and financial planners. They both previously served as senior sales management professionals at PIMCO Allianz and its affiliate, Nicholas Applegate. Ms. Highland, who also joins from PIMCO Allianz where she was a Senior Vice President and Director of Managed Account Investment Operations, will be Director of Products and Operations with primary focus on BlackRock's efforts in the managed account business.

Anne Ackerley, Managing Director and head of BlackRock's Private Client Group commented, "These additions to our team and the recently announced expense reductions in the Investor Classes of four of our bond funds are clear evidence that delivering BlackRock's world class institutional asset management capabilities at a personal level is a key priority for the firm. We expect that the additional breadth and depth of experience our new colleagues bring to BlackRock will enable us to enhance service to existing clients and to expand the range of investors and advisors able to access our mutual fund and managed account products."

As of September 30, 2002, BlackRock manages approximately $29 billion on behalf of private clients, principally through a variety of open-end and closed-end mutual funds. The BlackRock Funds, a growing family of fixed income, equity and money market funds, are offered to individual investors through broker dealers, RIAs, financial planners, 401(k) providers and other retirement and savings plans. Institutional investors also utilize these funds, as well as the firm's $43 billion money market fund family, BlackRock Provident Institutional Funds, as a cost-effective means of achieving diversification, liquidity and BlackRock's investment expertise. In addition, the firm manages over $170 billion in separate accounts on behalf of institutional and high net worth clients. All clients benefit from coordinated marketing and client service efforts, which help ensure highly efficient and effective delivery of the firm's resources to meet the unique needs of investors throughout the world.

About BlackRock. BlackRock is one of the largest publicly traded investment management firms in the United States with $246 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2002. BlackRock manages assets on behalf of institutional and individual investors worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, liquidity and alternative investment products. In addition, BlackRock provides risk management and investment system services to a growing number of institutional investors under the BlackRock Solutions name. Clients are served from the Company's headquarters in New York City, as well as offices in Boston, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Tokyo and Wilmington. BlackRock is majority-owned by The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) and by BlackRock employees. Additional information on the firm and its products is available at www.blackrock.com.

Forward Looking Statements. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act potential new business opportunities and other future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "priority," "believe," "expect," "current," "intention," "position," "assume," "potential," "continue," "remain," "maintain," "sustain," "seek," "achieve," and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "may" or similar expressions.

BlackRock cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and BlackRock assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.

In addition to factors previously disclosed in BlackRock's Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") reports and those identified elsewhere in this report, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: (1) the introduction, withdrawal, success and timing of business initiatives and strategies; (2) changes in political, economic or industry conditions, the interest rate environment or financial and capital markets, which could result in changes in demand for products or services or in the value of assets under management; (3) the investment performance of BlackRock's advised or sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts; (4) the impact of increased competition; (5) the impact of capital improvement projects; (6) the impact of future acquisitions; (7) the unfavorable resolution of legal proceedings; (8) the extent and timing of any share repurchases; (9) the impact, extent and timing of technological changes and the adequacy of intellectual property protection; (10) the impact of legislative and regulatory actions and reforms and regulatory, supervisory or enforcement actions of government agencies relating to BlackRock or PNC; (11) terrorist activities, which may adversely affect the general economy, financial and capital markets, specific industries, and BlackRock; and (12) the ability to attract and retain highly talented professionals.

BlackRock's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 and BlackRock's subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, accessible on the SEC's website at (http://www.sec.gov), discuss these factors in more detail and identify additional factors that can affect forward-looking statements.

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