Schroders hires division head from Blackrock

* Appoints multi asset head from BlackRock

* New hire will join group management committee

LONDON Dec 10 (Reuters) - Schroders (SDR.L) has hired a new divisional head from rival BlackRock (BLK.N) to drive its multi-asset investment business, the British investment manager said on Friday.

Nicolaas Marais will take over the multi-asset business from John McLaughlin, who will focus on Schroders' liability-driven investment business.

Multi-asset strategies are offered to institutional clients such as pension funds as a way to diversify risk by investing in a variety of different asset classes.

Schroders has around 30 billion pounds under management in its multi-asset business, the company said.

Marais, a South African, joins in March and will become a member of the Schroders group management committee, reporting to chief executive Michael Dobson.

"Multi-Asset strategies and Liability Driven Investment are priority growth areas for Schroders. We see significant long-term potential encompassing existing products and competitive strengths, as well as new opportunities in outcome-orientated and absolute-return strategies," Chief Investment Officer Alan Brown said in a statement.

Marais leaves his current post as head of active portfolio management in BlackRock's multi-asset group, having in 2000 joined Barclays Global Investors, which was acquired last year by the U.S. company. [ID:nGEE5B02FP]

Prior to 2000 he worked at the World Bank, Schroders said.

McLaughlin, who has led the multi-asset business for two years, will report to Marais while focusing on LDI, which focuses on hedging of risk, to help Britain's 1-trillion-pound corporate defined benefit (DB) pension industry pay its retirees. (Reporting by Chris Vellacott, editing by Sinead Cruise and Will Waterman) (For the Funds Hub blog: blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub) (For Global Investing: here)