MARKET INSIGHTS

Weekly market commentary

01-Jun-2026
  • BlackRock Investment Institute

The need for a new portfolio approach

Market take

Weekly video_20260608

Devan Nathwani

Portfolio Strategist

BlackRock Investment Institute

Header:

CAPITAL AT RISK. MARKETING MATERIAL.

Opening frame: What’s driving markets? Market take

Camera frame

Title slide: The need for a new portfolio approach

Today’s world is shaped by supply. That means the availability of workers, energy and other key materials for economic activity shape the outlook more than demand for those factors. And mega forces like AI and geopolitical fragmentation are transforming markets and economies with multiple plausible scenarios playing out.

This environment tests how long-term portfolios have traditionally been built and creating the need for a different approach.

1: Can’t avoid making big calls

Markets are increasingly being driven by a few mega forces that are cutting across asset class labels. The result is asset class labels can mask the underlying economic drivers of return and risk. This means asset allocation decisions in this environment are big active calls.

This all explains the rising interest in what’s been called a total portfolio approach, or TPA for short. Investors are increasingly thinking in terms of exposures and themes — not just broad asset classes.

2: What is TPA?

TPA is inconsistently defined across the industry. But it reflects an approach to building portfolios that allocates capital and risk across the whole portfolio to meet client-specific objectives. This approach defines exposures through underlying economic and factor drivers, looking at public and private markets together. All investments are assessed by their contribution to total portfolio risk and return.

3: A more dynamic framework

A scenario-based approach can help investors adapt faster to changing conditions. But it needs a clear framework.

That includes internally consistent risk and return assumptions across public and private assets, a plan for blending alpha, factor and index returns, and systematic ways to deal with economic uncertainty.

This is especially important when mega forces are driving returns and making almost every portfolio decision an active call.

Outro: Here’s our Market take

All asset allocation decisions are active calls in today’s investment environment. We think portfolios need to be built around exposures and convictions, with asset classes used as implementation tools — not the organizing framework.

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

A shifting environment

A fast-changing investment landscape driven by mega forces necessitates a new portfolio approach built around exposures – not asset class labels.

Market backdrop

The S&P 500 fell 2% and the Nasdaq slid nearly 5%. US 10-year Treasury yields rose to 4.54%, back to one-year highs hit last month.

Week ahead

We look to US May inflation data to gauge how the ongoing Mideast supply shock is impacting already sticky price pressures.

We’ve long argued this is a world where mega forces like AI transforming markets could imply different long-term outcomes. Why? Macro anchors investors have relied upon – like stable inflation expectations – are lost, meaning structural calls need more frequent updating. Growing interest in total portfolio approaches (TPA) reflects a desire for a new portfolio construction framework. This fits with our evolving whole portfolio research and implementation of the past decade.

Paragraph-2,Image-1,Paragraph-3
Paragraph-4,Advance Static Table-1,Paragraph-5,Advance Static Table-2,Paragraph-6,Advance Static Table-3

Looking through labels

IT sector share of selected equity and bond indexes, 2022 and 2026

This chart shows the share of the information technology sector in the MSCI US and MSCI emerging market (EM) indexes has roughly doubled since 2022, highlighting how thematic exposures in portfolios require a lens than transcends asset classes

Source: BlackRock Investment Institute, with data from Bloomberg and Dealogic (ION Analytics), June 2026. The bars show the information technology sector's share of the MSCI US and MSCI Emerging Markets equity indexes, and in US investment grade bond issuance.

The recent attention on TPA reflects growing appetite among institutional investors to fundamentally rethink strategic horizon portfolio construction. Yet beyond this, there is no broadly accepted agreement on what TPA details. While its meaning varies among different practitioners, TPA points to common aspects of how traditional strategic asset allocation (SAA) should evolve, like setting client-specific objectives in the context of the whole portfolio. We’re seeing this play out now as mega forces shape markets, highlighting how taking thematic exposures in portfolios requires a lens that transcends asset classes: The share of the information technology sector in the MSCI US and MSCI emerging market (EM) indexes has roughly doubled since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 – and more than doubled in investment grade bond issuance since then.

Rising interest in TPA can also be viewed as a symptom of this new investment environment. Simply put – solving for a static SAA over many years is inconsistent with today’s world – and investor experience of this in their portfolios leads directly to the desire to search for a new approach to portfolio construction. Our strategic-horizon portfolio construction work, developed over the past decade, is designed to address many of these objectives while adding the detail, definition and governance needed for implementation. See here how we define our portfolio construction framework.

A more active approach

Zooming out, we think this means investors should revisit big portfolio calls more often and have an explicit plan B portfolio ready. It also calls for a common whole portfolio lens that shifts the unit of analysis to the underlying economic and factor drivers of return and risk, plus a more holistic approach to risk budgeting between alpha and beta. This approach was a touchpoint at our Midyear Forum last week. Some of our credit investors mentioned how they focus on underlying exposures as opposed to asset class labels, while fixed income macro investors unpacked how our micro is macro theme from our 2026 Global Outlook is informing decisions. Elsewhere, equity investors noted that geography is no longer a major input for investment decisions: What matters more is what a company actually does and the drivers of its revenue, not the country where its stock happens to be listed.

The key: portfolio decisions shouldn’t be driven by asset class labels. Adopting a scenario-based approach should be done carefully and with a clear framework as to how governance needs to evolve with it, as investors often cite an improved governance process as one potential benefit but can struggle to implement it in practice. This includes internally consistent risk and return assumptions across private and public assets; a plan for blending alpha, factor and index returns; a scenario approach; and systematic ways of dealing with economic uncertainty. These frameworks maximize flexibility while allowing fund governance to hold decision-making to account. Clear decision-making processes are also essential to make trade-offs comparable across the whole portfolio. What’s key: the portfolio construction process, not the labels given to it. 

Our bottom line

All asset allocation decisions are active calls in today’s investment environment. This requires portfolios to be built around exposures and convictions – and looking beyond asset class labels.

Market backdrop

The S&P 500 fell more than 2% but was roughly 3% off its all-time high last week following a sharp selloff in key chip stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid nearly 5%. US 10-year Treasury yields climbed to 4.54%, back near one-year highs, following the May jobs report. We’re closely watching how new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will address this mix of strong jobs growth, an uptick in job vacancies and mounting wage pressure at his first policy meeting as chair next week.

We look to May US inflation figures for a clearer read on how the Mideast conflict energy shock is impacting already sticky inflation. The full breadth of the shock has yet to show and will depend on how it evolves. Even so, we think a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz into July could bring the impact of the shock to the fore more prominently, especially as US oil inventories potentially hit four-decade lows.

Week ahead

The chart shows that brent crude is the best-performing asset year-to-date, while bitcoin is the worst.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. Indexes are unmanaged and do not account for fees. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Sources: BlackRock Investment Institute, with data from LSEG Datastream as of June 4, 2026. Notes: The two ends of the bars show the lowest and highest res at any point year to date, and the dots represent current year-to-date res. Emerging market (EM), high yield and global corporate investment grade (IG) res are denominated in US dollars, and the rest in local currencies. Indexes or prices used are: spot Brent crude, ICE US Dollar Index (DXY), spot gold, spot bitcoin, MSCI Emerging Markets Index, MSCI Europe Index, LSEG Datastream 10-year benchmark government bond index (US, Germany and Italy), Bloomberg Global High Yield Index, J.P. Morgan EMBI Index, Bloomberg Global Corporate Index and MSCI USA Index.

June 9

US trade; China trade

June 10

US CPI; China CPI and PPI

June 11

US PPI

June 12

UK GDP

Read our past weekly commentaries here.

Big calls

Our highest conviction views on six- to 12-month (tactical) and over five-year (strategic) horizons, June 2026

Note: Views are from a US dollar perspective, June 2026. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice regarding any particular funds, strategy or security.

Tactical granular views table

Six- to 12-month tactical views on selected assets vs. broad global asset classes by level of conviction, June 2026

Legend Granular

We have lengthened our tactical investment horizon back to six to 12 months. The table below reflects this and, importantly, leaves aside the opportunity for alpha, or the potential to generate above-benchmark returns – especially at a time of heightened volatility.

Granular views

Six- to 12-month tactical views on selected assets vs. broad global asset classes by level of conviction, June 2026

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Note: Views are from a US dollar perspective. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast or guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon as investment advice regarding any particular fund, strategy or security.

Euro-denominated tactical granular views

Six to 12-month tactical views on selected assets vs. broad global asset classes by level of conviction, June 2026

Legend Granular

We have lengthened our tactical investment horizon back to six to 12 months. The table below reflects this and, importantly, leaves aside the opportunity for alpha, or the potential to generate above-benchmark returns – especially at a time of heightened volatility.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Note: Views are from a euro perspective, June 2026. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast or guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon as investment advice regarding any particular fund, strategy or security.

Meet the authors

Jean Boivin
Head – BlackRock Investment Institute
Wei Li
Global Chief Investment Strategist – BlackRock Investment Institute
Vivek Paul
Global Head of Portfolio Research – BlackRock Investment Institute
Devan Nathwani
Portfolio Strategist – BlackRock Investment Institute

This material is for distribution to Professional Clients (as defined by the Financial Conduct Authority or MiFID Rules) and Qualified Investors only and should not be relied upon by any other persons.

Issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 12 Throgmorton Avenue, London, EC2N 2DL. Tel: 020 7743 3000. Registered in England No. 2020394. For your protection telephone calls are usually recorded. BlackRock is a trading name of BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product or strategy.

Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. You may not get back the amount originally invested. Changes in the rates of exchange between currencies may cause the value of investments to diminish or increase. Fluctuation may be particularly marked in the case of a higher volatility fund and the value of an investment may fall suddenly and substantially. Levels and basis of taxation may change from time to time.

Any research in this document has been procured and may have been acted on by BlackRock for its own purpose. The results of such research are being made available only incidentally. The views expressed do not constitute investment or any other advice and are subject to change. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any company in the BlackRock Group or any part thereof and no assurances are made as to their accuracy.

This document is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or invitation to anyone to invest in any BlackRock funds and has not been prepared in connection with any such offer.

© 2026 BlackRock, Inc. All Rights reserved. BLACKROCK, BLACKROCK SOLUTIONS, iSHARES, BUILD ON BLACKROCK and SO WHAT DO I DO WITH MY MONEY logo are registered and unregistered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.