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3+1 weekly market insights

“3 Things You Need to Know + 1 You Don’t!”
The 3+1 Active Investors Series is BlackRock’s weekly investor video franchise, created to start your week with insights from the voices shaping markets. Featuring the firm’s leading active investors, each episode highlights three perspectives on what’s driving markets today.

What does it mean? There’s like so many things I wanna say…

Good morning. I’m Mike Pyle, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management at BlackRock. It’s the week of May

11th, and here are three things you need to know, and one you don’t.

Number one…

There’s a lot happening out in the global landscape. There’s the conflict in Iran weighing on investors' minds, particularly given what it means for global energy markets. I’ve also got my eye on the mid-May summit between President Trump and President Xi of China. Are the leaders gonna have a successful summit that continues that truce thru the rest of 2026? What is that gonna mean in terms of next steps?

And there are ongoing developments in AI. A new model, a new capability, new earnings from the frontier labs. Each one of these is consequential for economics, markets, for what the future’s gonna hold.

Number two…

What should investors do with this? Well, I say the 2-D’s: Diversification and Dispersion. Diversification is the key to building a resilient portfolio, but in the world we’re facing, diversification is harder to come by. Then secondly, dispersion. Markets are increasingly separated between the winners and the losers, in a way that’s historically large. That opens up opportunities to deliver alpha. And it’s this combination of diversification and dispersion that I think really describes a lot of what’s important in this landscape given what’s happening in the world.

Which brings us to number three…

Liquid alternative strategies step right into this space. That heightened dispersion gives portfolio managers the ability to go long, go short, deliver uncorrelated alpha through that heightened dispersion. And that alpha can be a source of diversification in portfolios. This adds an additional tool to the toolkit for the most sophisticated institutions, as well as for folks, you know, on Main Street saving for retirement.

And the one thing you don’t need to know...

Well I've been fortunate enough to work at The White House for eight years. Life in The White House is about a daily accumulation of petty indignities– Veep captures that aspect of life in The White House pretty well. My hot take: the White House is more West Wing than Veep. There’s awe and inspiration working in that place alongside dedicated people. It’s a mix of the absurd and the august.

To get more 3+1 and stay up on everything you need to know, and some things you don’t… Make sure to follow us on LinkedIn & YouTube. We’ll see you next week.

3+1 Episode 2: Mike Pyle

In this week's episode, Mike Pyle, Deputy Head of BlackRock’s Portfolio Management Group, shares what he is watching across the global landscape and how he is interpreting the signals that matter most right now. He discusses the staying power of AI, what recent earnings are revealing, and the role of diversification in today’s market.

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Previous episodes

Like a sneeze coming on… Just dive in?

Good morning. I'm Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock. It’s the week of May 4th. Here are three things you need to know, and one you don’t.

First up… I would say the markets have, in many ways, become this gambling arena. And you can get very, very immersed in: got to be fast. You got to move. This is happening, this piece of news, react to it. You got to step back and think about, okay, what do I need to really think about today? The tortoise wins the race.

Coupon works. Dividend works. If you map, over time, return versus yield, emerging markets go through incredible volatility. But then you look at it in the end, you’ve clipped a lot of coupon along the way. Versus, you know, I’ve said, like, long end interest rates give you a lot of volatility and they don’t give you as much income. If you’re clipping coupon, it will work for you. And the compounding effect is pretty powerful.

Number two. I actually think the next couple of employment numbers are going to be quite significant. Today, we are running a bit hot on inflation. But if you’ve got a hot employment number, this release or the next one, that’s gonna be a big deal. We have what I would argue is going to be an unemployment problem, a greater one is coming. But I don’t think we’re necessarily going to get more data on that in the next couple of months, and we actually may get something to the contrary in the very short term. We are going to watch those numbers closely.

Which brings us to…number three. You’ve had the interpretation of the ECB being hawkish and that they’re going to have to react to inflation and they’ll hike rates. Well, the markets have priced that in already. Whereas the fed, you know, has priced in an ease. So one of the things that I think has been pretty exciting is we shift some our interest rate exposure to Europe, because you’re already pricing in the hikes, but you can buy things like Spain and Italy that are basically European credits, literally, close to 7%. That’s pretty spectacular. You think about your nine years of negative interest rates in Europe. You can’t ask for more. You can’t ask for more than that.

And the one thing you don’t need to know…

I will say I’ve been to Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo Disney, Shanghai Disney, Paris Disney. I know every square inch of every park. I’m still going. And now I’m a grandfather. I think I have another trip planned. My hot take: the ride I look forward to, because it’s a great competition, is Toy Story the ride, because you actually get to compete against everybody else in the cars.

To get more three plus one and stay up on everything you need to know… And some things you don't, make sure to follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube. We'll see you next week.

MKTG0526-5447088-EXP0527

Like a sneeze coming on… Just dive in?

Good morning. I'm Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock. It’s the week of May 4th. Here are three things you need to know, and one you don’t.

First up… I would say the markets have, in many ways, become this gambling arena. And you can get very, very immersed in: got to be fast. You got to move. This is happening, this piece of news, react to it. You got to step back and think about, okay, what do I need to really think about today? The tortoise wins the race.

Coupon works. Dividend works. If you map, over time, return versus yield, emerging markets go through incredible volatility. But then you look at it in the end, you’ve clipped a lot of coupon along the way. Versus, you know, I’ve said, like, long end interest rates give you a lot of volatility and they don’t give you as much income. If you’re clipping coupon, it will work for you. And the compounding effect is pretty powerful.

Number two. I actually think the next couple of employment numbers are going to be quite significant. Today, we are running a bit hot on inflation. But if you’ve got a hot employment number, this release or the next one, that’s gonna be a big deal. We have what I would argue is going to be an unemployment problem, a greater one is coming. But I don’t think we’re necessarily going to get more data on that in the next couple of months, and we actually may get something to the contrary in the very short term. We are going to watch those numbers closely.

Which brings us to…number three. You’ve had the interpretation of the ECB being hawkish and that they’re going to have to react to inflation and they’ll hike rates. Well, the markets have priced that in already. Whereas the fed, you know, has priced in an ease. So one of the things that I think has been pretty exciting is we shift some our interest rate exposure to Europe, because you’re already pricing in the hikes, but you can buy things like Spain and Italy that are basically European credits, literally, close to 7%. That’s pretty spectacular. You think about your nine years of negative interest rates in Europe. You can’t ask for more. You can’t ask for more than that.

And the one thing you don’t need to know…

I will say I’ve been to Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo Disney, Shanghai Disney, Paris Disney. I know every square inch of every park. I’m still going. And now I’m a grandfather. I think I have another trip planned. My hot take: the ride I look forward to, because it’s a great competition, is Toy Story the ride, because you actually get to compete against everybody else in the cars.

To get more three plus one and stay up on everything you need to know… And some things you don't, make sure to follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube. We'll see you next week.

MKTG0526-5447088-EXP0527