Videos | BlackRock Investment Institute

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

Weekly video_20260330
Christopher Kaminker
Head of Sustainable Investment Research and Analytics
BlackRock Investment Institute

Header:
CAPITAL AT RISK. INVESTMENTS CAN RISE OR FALL IN VALUE. FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION IN THE U.S., CANADA, LATIN AMERICA, SELECT COUNTRIES IN EUROPE (SEE THE FULL DISCLAIMER), ISRAEL, SOUTH AFRICA, HONG KONG, SINGAPORE AND AUSTRALIA. FOR INSTITUTIONAL, PROFESSIONAL, AND QUALIFIED INVESTORS AND CLIENTS IN OTHER PERMITTED COUNTRIES.

Opening frame: What’s driving markets? Market take

Camera frame

The economic shock from the Middle East conflict is pushing governments to secure energy supply. Power demand from AI is also accelerating investment in energy infrastructure. Together, these forces are unlocking long-term, thematic opportunities.

Title slide: Mideast shock fuels investing themes

1: Highly exposed

Now, energy underpins economic activity around the world. Around 80% of the population lives in countries that are net oil importers, and 60% live in countries that import natural gas. That means disruptions from the Middle East conflict are having a global effect, rippling across markets and reinforcing the drive for energy security.

2: An uneven shock

But the shock is playing out unevenly. Europe and Asia both rely on imported liquefied natural gas. Europe has limited ability to reduce its demand. Japan and South Korea are more exposed to price swings and demand shifts. The U.S. – a net exporter – is insulated but not immune.

3: Getting selective

AI is driving up demand for energy – but that demand is colliding with supply constraints on key materials like copper. This has led countries to reduce their reliance on a small set of LNG suppliers, prioritize local supply chains through circular economies, and ramp up electrification efforts powered through renewables, like solar with batteries.

To capture these trends, the investing horizon is key. Leadership in deployment doesn’t always translate into equity returns. In the near term, higher volatility and dispersion favor active approaches. Longer-term, we favor themes such as electrification and critical resources across public and private markets.

Outro: Here’s our Market take

Energy security and AI-driven demand are reinforcing each other. We favor active, thematic exposures to back these companies and capture the shifts as they play out – active fundamentally, active systematically and through infrastructure investment in private markets. We stay neutral across equities but stand ready to adjust quickly.

Closing frame: Read details: blackrock.com/weekly-commentary

Weekly video_20260330
Christopher Kaminker
Head of Sustainable Investment Research and Analytics
BlackRock Investment Institute

Header:
CAPITAL AT RISK. INVESTMENTS CAN RISE OR FALL IN VALUE. FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION IN THE U.S., CANADA, LATIN AMERICA, SELECT COUNTRIES IN EUROPE (SEE THE FULL DISCLAIMER), ISRAEL, SOUTH AFRICA, HONG KONG, SINGAPORE AND AUSTRALIA. FOR INSTITUTIONAL, PROFESSIONAL, AND QUALIFIED INVESTORS AND CLIENTS IN OTHER PERMITTED COUNTRIES.

Opening frame: What’s driving markets? Market take

Camera frame

The economic shock from the Middle East conflict is pushing governments to secure energy supply. Power demand from AI is also accelerating investment in energy infrastructure. Together, these forces are unlocking long-term, thematic opportunities.

Title slide: Mideast shock fuels investing themes

1: Highly exposed

Now, energy underpins economic activity around the world. Around 80% of the population lives in countries that are net oil importers, and 60% live in countries that import natural gas. That means disruptions from the Middle East conflict are having a global effect, rippling across markets and reinforcing the drive for energy security.

2: An uneven shock

But the shock is playing out unevenly. Europe and Asia both rely on imported liquefied natural gas. Europe has limited ability to reduce its demand. Japan and South Korea are more exposed to price swings and demand shifts. The U.S. – a net exporter – is insulated but not immune.

3: Getting selective

AI is driving up demand for energy – but that demand is colliding with supply constraints on key materials like copper. This has led countries to reduce their reliance on a small set of LNG suppliers, prioritize local supply chains through circular economies, and ramp up electrification efforts powered through renewables, like solar with batteries.

To capture these trends, the investing horizon is key. Leadership in deployment doesn’t always translate into equity returns. In the near term, higher volatility and dispersion favor active approaches. Longer-term, we favor themes such as electrification and critical resources across public and private markets.

Outro: Here’s our Market take

Energy security and AI-driven demand are reinforcing each other. We favor active, thematic exposures to back these companies and capture the shifts as they play out – active fundamentally, active systematically and through infrastructure investment in private markets. We stay neutral across equities but stand ready to adjust quickly.

Closing frame: Read details: 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.