2026 Investment Directions

FOR PROFESSIONAL CLIENTS / QUALIFIED CLIENTS / QUALIFIED INVESTORS ONLY

Capital at Risk

Marketing Materia

Intro 2 (Resilience first):

Geopolitical uncertainty has been at the forefront so far in 2026, driving volatility and dispersion across asset classes. In this environment, we favour staying invested but crucially taking measured risk to preserve resilience at the core of portfolios.

Hi, I’m Karim, and these are our latest views on positioning portfolios for uncertainty.

Section 1 - Growth:

Amid a volatile backdrop, we selectively tap back into risk, particularly where structural growth themes can create differentiated return potential. The AI buildout remains a key growth driver and a compelling investment theme, but with an increasing need for selectivity. An active approach allows for dynamic allocation across the AI ecosystem – from semiconductors, where earnings do remain strong, to broader opportunities across sectors and regions. In US equities, beyond AI, we like defensive equity allocations such as healthcare and areas like large-cap banks. We also like healthcare and banks in Europe, alongside companies with strong domestic revenue exposure. In emerging markets, dispersion calls for selectivity. We lean into Brazil for commodity exposure and Mexico for its attractive valuations, alongside parts of Asia given improving fundamentals and AI-related tailwinds. Finally, private markets are playing a growing role in portfolios, offering potential differentiated sources of growth and access to alternative return drivers.

Section 2 - Resilience:

Persistent uncertainty calls for increased focus on diversification and downside protection, in our view, with gold remaining our primary choice to hedge geopolitical risk. In equities, buffer strategies could help improve downside protection while enabling investors to remain invested. Amid less reliable stock-bond correlations, alternatives such as hedge funds could provide durable alpha through return dispersion and independence from market beta, alongside dynamic downside protection. Anecdotally, we note growing client interest in diversified hedge fund sleeves containing multi-strategy exposures. Finally, we take a more active approach to currency management, through hedged share classes or strategies that integrate FX considerations directly into portfolio construction.

Section 3 - Income:

Income remains the primary driver of returns in fixed income and a key portfolio objective for many clients we speak to. We maintain a high-quality investment grade credit core, with a continued focus on managing duration risk, while adding more resilient, all-weather strategies, including unconstrained approaches designed to deliver consistent income with lower market sensitivity. We also tilt into certain plus sectors.

We see potential opportunities in AT1s, where we like the sector makeup, although we stress th e need for an active lens given the complexity of the market. Extending beyond fixed income, systematic income equity strategies that combine dividends and option premia can provide diversified and disciplined income streams. We also see potential selective opportunities in high-dividend equity markets. See our latest Investment Directions report for more on these exposures.

Products shown on animations on screen:

· iShares AI Innovation Active UCITS ETF

· iShares MSCI Europe Health Care Sector UCITS ETF

· iShares MSCI EM Latin America UCITS ETF

· iShares MSCI China Tech UCITS ETF

· iShares Physical Gold ETC

· iShares US Large Cap Max Buffer Sep UCITS ETF

· iShares Core € Corp Bond UCITS ETF

· iShares AT1 Bond Active UCITS ETF

· BGF US Flexible Equity Fund

· BlackRock Multi-Alternatives Growth Fund

· BlackRock Tactical Opportunities Fund

· BlackRock ESG Fixed Income Strategies Fund

· BGF Systematic Global Equity High Income Fund