* Blackrock has completed first close of its UK Strategic Alternative Income Fund

* Fund closed at end of June with over 500 million stg secured in commitments from a range of institutional investors in UK

* BlackRock UK Strategic Alternative Income Fund is a sterling-denominated pooled fund, designed to deliver predictable, long-term cash flows targeting a net annual yield of 5 pct over the investment cycle

* BlackRock's 2017 Rebalancing Survey found that large institutional investors are set to deploy cash in 2017, with investors expected to make significant moves into less liquid assets.

* On a net basis, 63 pct of UK investors expect to increase their allocations to real assets this year. Further company coverage: