TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 2, 2012) - BlackRock Investments Canada Inc. (BlackRock Canada), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), today announced that Som Seif, former president and CEO of Claymore Investments Inc., will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Som has agreed to remain with the BlackRock organization to support the transition. In this capacity, he will be working closely with Mary Anne Wiley, Managing Director, in her role as head of the combined ETF business.

On January 11, 2012, BlackRock entered into a definitive agreement with subsidiaries of Guggenheim to acquire all of Guggenheim Partners' interest in Claymore Investments. The deal closed on March 7, 2012.

"We'd like to thank Som for his innovation and contribution to the Canadian ETF marketplace and for his guidance through the transition" said Mary Anne Wiley, head of iShares, BlackRock Canada. "Without question, bringing together the impressive combined product roster and people on BlackRock's platform will deliver an unparalleled opportunity to serve Canadian investors."

Som Seif founded Claymore in Canada in 2005 and grew the business to nearly $8 billion in assets, making it one of the fastest growing investment firms in Canadian history.

"I am extremely proud of what we built and would like to thank everyone who helped make Claymore a success." said Seif. "That success would not have been possible without the commitment and passion of our small team who always believed in making intelligent and affordable investment solutions more accessible, and I would like to recognize them for their hard work."

Seif will stay on board with BlackRock until mid-April to work with the team through the transition.

About BlackRock

BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2011, BlackRock's AUM was US$3.513 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients' needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares^® (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions^®. Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2011, the firm has approximately 10,100 employees in 27 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at [ www.blackrock.com ].

About iSharesETFs

The iShares business is a global product leader in ETFs with over 460 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 19 exchanges worldwide. The iShares funds are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell securities through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. The iShares customer base consists of the institutional segment of pension plans and fund managers, as well as the retail segment of financial advisors and individual investors.

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