This CIO Uses Derivatives As An Asset Class To Help Manage BlackRock’s ~$250B SMA Platform episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 6, 2026 · 32 MIN

This CIO Uses Derivatives As An Asset Class To Help Manage BlackRock’s ~$250B SMA Platform

from Smart Money Circle · host Adam Sarhan

GuestEric Metz, Chief Investment Officer & Head of SpiderRock Advisors Fully Owned Subsidiary of BlackRock’s approximately $250B SMA platformBioEric Metz, CFA, Managing Director, is the Chief Investment Officer and Head of SpiderRock Advisors. SRA, acquired by BlackRock in May 2024, delivers customized derivatives strategies and solutions, via SMAs, to nearly all client segments of BlackRock. He oversees all SRA’s investment strategies and is responsible for the commercialization of the vertically integrated business unit within US Wealth Advisory. Mr. Metz is a memberof BlackRock’s USWA Executive Committee.Prior to the BlackRock acquisition, Mr. Metz was a Co-Founder of SpiderRock Advisors, and led both the business and investment team, as President & CIO, since its inception in 2015, and throughout the BlackRock strategic partnership in 2021.Preceding SRA, Mr. Metz was the Derivatives Strategist and Portfolio Manager at RiverNorth Capital Management, managing both mutual fund and hedge fund assets. He began his career with the Chicago Trading Company on the floors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). After the trading floors, he was a senior trader and partner at both Ronin Capital and Bengal Capital, proprietary trading firms specializing in volatility arbitrage. Mr. Metz graduated, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan with a B.S.E. in Industrial and Operations Engineering. He earned his M.S.E., with honors, in Industrial and Operational Engineering, and was enrolled in the program’s PhD program. Mr. Metz is a CFA Charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Chicago and a member of YPO’s Chicago based Windy City Chapter.

GuestEric Metz, Chief Investment Officer & Head of SpiderRock Advisors Fully Owned Subsidiary of BlackRock’s approximately $250B SMA platformBioEric Metz, CFA, Managing Director, is the Chief Investment Officer and Head of SpiderRock Advisors. SRA, acquired by BlackRock in May 2024, delivers customized derivatives strategies and solutions, via SMAs, to nearly all client segments of BlackRock. He oversees all SRA’s investment strategies and is responsible for the commercialization of the vertically integrated business unit within US Wealth Advisory. Mr. Metz is a memberof BlackRock’s USWA Executive Committee.Prior to the BlackRock acquisition, Mr. Metz was a Co-Founder of SpiderRock Advisors, and led both the business and investment team, as President & CIO, since its inception in 2015, and throughout the BlackRock strategic partnership in 2021.Preceding SRA, Mr. Metz was the Derivatives Strategist and Portfolio Manager at RiverNorth Capital Management, managing both mutual fund and hedge fund assets. He began his career with the Chicago Trading Company on the floors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). After the trading floors, he was a senior trader and partner at both Ronin Capital and Bengal Capital, proprietary trading firms specializing in volatility arbitrage. Mr. Metz graduated, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan with a B.S.E. in Industrial and Operations Engineering. He earned his M.S.E., with honors, in Industrial and Operational Engineering, and was enrolled in the program’s PhD program. Mr. Metz is a CFA Charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Chicago and a member of YPO’s Chicago based Windy City Chapter.

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This CIO Uses Derivatives As An Asset Class To Help Manage BlackRock’s ~$250B SMA Platform

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GuestEric Metz, Chief Investment Officer & Head of SpiderRock Advisors Fully Owned Subsidiary of BlackRock’s approximately $250B SMA platformBioEric Metz, CFA, Managing Director, is the Chief Investment Officer and Head of SpiderRock Advisors. SRA,...

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