Aladdin Client Forum Event RECAP

Navigating uncertainty: Three must-haves for asset managers and owners

Insights from the Aladdin Client Forums in Tokyo and Singapore

Asset managers and institutional investors across the globe face an increasingly challenging landscape of geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility. In talks held at the recent Aladdin Client Forums in Tokyo and Singapore, addressing these challenges was front and center.

For asset managers and asset owners investing in a time of uncertainty, there are three must-haves. 

Quotation start

BlackRock really believes today that the global economy is undergoing profound structural transformation

Tarek Chouman
Global Head of Aladdin Client Business

A unified Whole Portfolio view

As investment into private markets grows, firms need a holistic view of all their investments, across public and private markets. This is especially so for investors in APAC, where demand for private capital is accelerating. APAC-based private capital funds manage assets totalling $4 trillion, up nearly 5x in the past decade, according to data from Preqin, a part of BlackRock.

Investors need answers to questions like “What is my total exposure to the technology sector across public and private investments?” Today, that’s not easy to answer. Public equity holdings may be tracked in one system with real-time data, while private equity exposures are recorded in another—often updated weeks after quarterly reports are released.

At Aladdin, we are changing that. We pioneered the first whole portfolio solution over six years ago—well ahead of the industry. And we’ve continuously evolved the Aladdin platform through both organic development and strategic acquisitions, shaped by insights from our diverse client base, including BlackRock. This has afforded our clients an innovation runway, with access to more advanced capabilities—across public and private assets.

With a single, seamless platform, investors can track the transaction lifecycle end-to-end, assess risk through multiple lenses, and evaluate performance across the portfolio of public and private assets.

BlackRock and Aladdin was built for the concept of the whole portfolio. We want to enable you to move faster and do more with less.

Kunal Khara
Global Head of Aladdin Product

Real-time, scenario-based data analytics

To navigate volatile and uncertain market conditions, investors must be able to quickly assess portfolio impact and execute decisively. To do so, they will need the right analytics that can consider different economic scenarios, support real-time decision-making, and help manage risk. Aladdin is helping them meet this need.

For example, in response to the fast-changing tariff landscape, we moved quickly to assess the potential impact across countries and companies. Our platform tools allow investors to estimate how evolving trade relationships could affect their portfolios—helping them pivot in real time.

Against a backdrop of ongoing change across geopolitics, markets, and technology, investors rely on these tools to test scenarios, understand risk exposure, and make informed decisions at speed.

Aladdin is an integral part of your ecosystem. How do you marry Aladdin's data in your ecosystem? Our strategy is to meet where you are.

Diwakar Goel
Global Head of Aladdin Data

ROI for Generative AI to achieve true business impact

Scaling engagement with clients more effectively is especially important today. As market dynamics shift, client expectations are rising—driven by a demand for greater transparency, personalization, and responsiveness.

Natural language tools and recommendation engines are enabling hyper-personalized research at scale—especially critical in markets like Japan, where advisors often serve high-touch client bases.

Aladdin technology is building toward that future. We’re leveling up the platform’s AI capabilities to allow users to ask natural language questions directly—whether it be about portfolio analytics, research notes or cash projections. Platform clients will be able to ask Aladdin technology questions such as “What is my exposure to company X from the end of last quarter?” and “What will be my cash balance at the end of today for a given portfolio?” In an AI-enabled future, clients will receive the answers they need more quickly and easily than ever before.

To find out more about the must-haves shared, read The Way Forward tech trends whitepaper here.

We presented a futuristic view of trading, one where a portfolio manager is ... able to talk to Aladdin, where agents are ... able to work together to make decisions, and Aladdin can provide you with suggestions.

Syril Garson
Head of Product for AI, Aladdin

About the Aladdin Client Forum

The Aladdin Client Forum brings together clients, partners, and senior leaders at Aladdin to share views on the evolution of the investment management industry and the key role technology plays in empowering pragmatic innovation.