BlackRock's audacious Microsoft hook-up reveals fee-compression busting pivot to annuities sales and software distribution, as eMoney and Envestnet deals increasingly make sense, but analysts warn of existential RIA risk if Vanguard et al. join the fray

This should be entertaining to watch. Problem is that in order to deliver the correct solution to end users, BlackRock and MSFT would need to move beyond products to generalized solutions, which I suspect BlackRock is not yet willing to do. As noted, packaging up iShares products with an insurance wrapper might be a viable solution, but looking at the problem from a product perspective isn't moving the ball forward - nor any sort of a gamechanger. It's just finding another use for a screwdriver. And that's the bigger problem for "disruptions" from inside the industry - they often aren't.