BlackRock Investment Institute Videos

Our thought leaders share their insights on markets, geopolitics and economics.

Market take

Weekly video_20240624

Carolina Martinez Arevalo

Opening frame: What’s driving markets? Market take

Camera frame

U.S. stocks have climbed to all-time highs thanks to the technology sector.

We’re less concerned than some about the small group of tech stocks driving gains.

Title slide: Sticking with U.S. tech surge

1: Tech sector rolls on

Tech stocks have surged this year, fueled by excitement over artificial intelligence and investor preference for quality given greater macro uncertainty.

Tech firms have so far been able to deliver on and beat lofty earnings expectations, with earnings growing 23% year over year in Q1.

2: Strong balance sheets

We also like tech for its strong balance sheets and we are less concerned about valuation metrics.

Tech firms have free cash flows as a share of sales that are nearly doubled those of the broader market and they have the highest margins across sectors.

3: Broadening gains

Though at a slower pace than tech, other sectors are also seeing gains this year.

This is due to a recovery in margins as cost pressures ease and support from nominal GDP growth that looks set to remain above the pre-pandemic average.

Outro: Here’s our Market take

We’re less concerned by concentration in U.S. tech stocks.

We stay overweight U.S. stocks on a six- to 12-month, tactical horizon and still prefer the AI theme.

As stock gains broaden, we still favor healthcare given support from recovering earnings, drug innovation and demographic needs. And we like industrials as they’ll help build out AI infrastructure.

Closing frame: Read details:

www.blackrock.com/weekly-commentary

Market take

Weekly video_20240624

Carolina Martinez Arevalo

Opening frame: What’s driving markets? Market take

Camera frame

U.S. stocks have climbed to all-time highs thanks to the technology sector.

We’re less concerned than some about the small group of tech stocks driving gains.

Title slide: Sticking with U.S. tech surge

1: Tech sector rolls on

Tech stocks have surged this year, fueled by excitement over artificial intelligence and investor preference for quality given greater macro uncertainty.

Tech firms have so far been able to deliver on and beat lofty earnings expectations, with earnings growing 23% year over year in Q1.

2: Strong balance sheets

We also like tech for its strong balance sheets and we are less concerned about valuation metrics.

Tech firms have free cash flows as a share of sales that are nearly doubled those of the broader market and they have the highest margins across sectors.

3: Broadening gains

Though at a slower pace than tech, other sectors are also seeing gains this year.

This is due to a recovery in margins as cost pressures ease and support from nominal GDP growth that looks set to remain above the pre-pandemic average.

Outro: Here’s our Market take

We’re less concerned by concentration in U.S. tech stocks.

We stay overweight U.S. stocks on a six- to 12-month, tactical horizon and still prefer the AI theme.

As stock gains broaden, we still favor healthcare given support from recovering earnings, drug innovation and demographic needs. And we like industrials as they’ll help build out AI infrastructure.

Closing frame: Read details:

www.blackrock.com/weekly-commentary

BlackRock Bottom Line: 2024 Global outlook

Speaker: Wei Li, Global Chief Investment Strategist, BlackRock Investment Institute

Script:

Higher interest rates and greater volatility define the new regime we’re in. In turn, that’s creating greater dispersion of returns.

We think investors will benefit from taking a more active approach to portfolios as we head into next year. 

Here’s our three investment themes for 2024: number one, managing macro risk; number two, steering portfolio outcomes; and number three, harnessing mega forces.

BlackRock Bottom Line open

Title: BlackRock Investment Institute 2024 global outlook

Our first theme is managing macro risk. Production constraints mean central banks face tougher trade-offs between inflation and growth – they can’t respond to faltering growth like before. This leads to a wider set of outcomes and a more uncertain macro outlook.

We don’t think investors should wait for the macro environment to improve. Instead, they should look to neutralize macro exposures or be very deliberate about which risks they take.

Our second theme is steering portfolio outcomes. We believe the new regime rewards an active approach to portfolios. Greater volatility and dispersion of returns create space for investment expertise to shine – that involves being more dynamic with indexing and alpha-seeking strategies, while staying selective.

Our third theme is harnessing mega forces. We see five structural shifts reshaping markets and driving returns now and in the future. We think they have become important portfolio building blocks on their own.

The bottom line is: Going into 2024 in the new regime, we want to put money to work. We believe investors should take a more active approach to their portfolios and be deliberate in taking portfolio risk.

BlackRock Bottom Line: 2024 Global outlook

Speaker: Wei Li, Global Chief Investment Strategist, BlackRock Investment Institute

Script:

Higher interest rates and greater volatility define the new regime we’re in. In turn, that’s creating greater dispersion of returns.

We think investors will benefit from taking a more active approach to portfolios as we head into next year. 

Here’s our three investment themes for 2024: number one, managing macro risk; number two, steering portfolio outcomes; and number three, harnessing mega forces.

BlackRock Bottom Line open

Title: BlackRock Investment Institute 2024 global outlook

Our first theme is managing macro risk. Production constraints mean central banks face tougher trade-offs between inflation and growth – they can’t respond to faltering growth like before. This leads to a wider set of outcomes and a more uncertain macro outlook.

We don’t think investors should wait for the macro environment to improve. Instead, they should look to neutralize macro exposures or be very deliberate about which risks they take.

Our second theme is steering portfolio outcomes. We believe the new regime rewards an active approach to portfolios. Greater volatility and dispersion of returns create space for investment expertise to shine – that involves being more dynamic with indexing and alpha-seeking strategies, while staying selective.

Our third theme is harnessing mega forces. We see five structural shifts reshaping markets and driving returns now and in the future. We think they have become important portfolio building blocks on their own.

The bottom line is: Going into 2024 in the new regime, we want to put money to work. We believe investors should take a more active approach to their portfolios and be deliberate in taking portfolio risk.