What to do in equity portfolios at the midyear point? Fundamental Equities CIO Tony DeSpirto assesses the backdrop and identifies three favored sectors.
Over the last year, we’ve experienced heightened macroeconomic uncertainty with several events impacting society and financial markets.
The ECB and the Fed both need to quickly normalize policy from the emergency settings adopted when the pandemic first hit.
The geopolitical crisis in Ukraine creates a stagflationary shock for global economies. The plan to fight inflation just got far more complicated for global central banks.
Russia’s tragic invasion of Ukraine has layered on existing supply imbalances, causing geopolitical uncertainty and a global energy shock.
Russ Koesterich, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of the Global Allocation team, discusses the case for the cheaper segments of growth stocks.
Inflation and hawkish central bank talk have spooked investors and led to bond losses not seen since the 1980s in developed markets (DMs).
Seeking resilience. 2022 started with rising interest rates, high inflation and unthinkable violence and human tragedy in Europe.
War in Europe comes at a time when the global economy was just emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fed last week signaled a large and rapid increase in its policy rate over the next two years and struck a surprisingly hawkish tone, indicating it’s ready to go beyond normalizing to try to tame inflation.
Market Update from BlackRock's municipal bond team.
When an iceberg comes into view, investors must be wary of the danger, but Rick Rieder and team argue that it's also important to recall that calmer seas may lie beyond.
Market volatility is a given, but that doesn’t make its inevitable appearance any less stressful.
Nearly four years ago, we wrote a market commentary titled “A New Waze of Investing” in which we highlighted the incredible technological innovations that were changing our everyday lives and our perspectives on long-term investing.
Energy sector leaders quickly shifted from the “green” economy in 2020 to the “brown” economy in 2021.
Impact investing is gaining interest as a growing share of investors seeks tangible progress on environmental and social goals alongside financial returns.
Rick Rieder and team identify 11 themes that could drive returns in 2022, as the greatest monetary experiment since the advent of flat currency enters its next phase.
Russ discusses the recent volatility and how to hedge the risk in the current environment.
What might equity investors expect in 2022? Active stock picker Tony DeSpirito reviews the potential positives and impediments in his Q1 market outlook.
It’s well studied that factors like debt and financial uncertainty impact the way people feel about retirement and prepare for it. In this series, BlackRock explores insights from our 2021 DC Pulse research and additional work with the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) to recognize inequitable effects and find ways to build a better retirement for all.
We are entering a new market regime unlike any in the past half century: We see another year of positive equity returns coupled with a down year for bonds. But we have dialed back our risk-taking given the wide range of potential outcomes in 2022.
Supply chain issues are making headlines, particularly as consumers are seeing prices rise and delivery times lengthen amid product and component shortages. International equity investors Gareth Williams and David Vos offer four Investment takeaways.
Historically, fourth quarter tax loss selling of closed-end funds (“CEFs”) has been prevalent in the market. CEFs may be more susceptible to tax loss selling given they trade on a stock exchange and market prices (investor return) can deviate from underlying net asset values (“NAVs”) (fund return).
The busy retail season is in full swing, but what can investors make of the longer-term outlook for consumer stocks? Sophie Steel of BlackRock Fundamental Equities looks beyond the seasonalities to three factors that are reshaping the opportunities across consumer sectors.
Rick Rieder and team examine the parallels, or lack of them, between the economy, markets and policy of the 1970s and today.
BlackRock Portfolio Manager, Russ Koesterich, CFA, JD discusses his preference for the US dollar over a long Treasury hedge in the current markets.
Portfolio manager Michael Fredericks reflects on markets and investing to generate income while managing risk over the last decade.
The bonds that held market expectations and central bank policies closely together during the COVID-era are starting to break. BlackRock's quant bond experts discuss the latest developments in inflation dynamics, liquidity in the financial system, and changes in China's policy reaction.
Achieving “net zero” by 2050 will require a shift in the global energy mix, from both a supply and consumption perspective. This has implications for portfolio allocations and alpha generation but there are diverse perspectives on the emergent risks and opportunities related to this shift.
The results of hiring high quality, skilled workers can impact several business functions for companies. But is there added potential for talent acquisition strategies to lead to positive social outcomes and improved financial results?
It’s well-studied that factors like debt and financial uncertainty impact the way people feel about retirement and prepare for it. In this series, BlackRock explores insights from our 2021 DC Pulse research and additional work with the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) to recognize inequities and help find ways to build a better retirement for all.
This Halloween season, Rick Rieder and team shed light on today's market ghosts, ghouls and goblins and how to build a resilient investment portfolio around them.
September lived up to its reputation as a bad month for stocks. Global equity markets declined more than 4%, making September the worst month since the start of the pandemic. Beyond seasonal weakness, many attributed equity losses to higher interest rates.
Matters of money can pull at both our intellect and our emotions. And when markets get shaky, that’s when the internal tug-of-war kicks into high gear. Two investment pros share strategies for keeping calm and investing on.
Saving for retirement is a decades-long endeavor with factors – both excepted and unexpected – that can affect confidence and preparedness. Even though much of the conversation has centered around amassing a nest egg, it’s also important to look at what else can be done to improve retirement readiness for all.
We view the U.S. Treasury yield spike as resolving a disconnect between the powerful restart and lower yields in recent months, and stay tactically pro-risk.
Market update from BlackRock's municipal bond team.
It's been a good year for U.S. stocks, but is the run nearing an end?
Real interest rates on Treasuries have been strongly negative throughout 2021. But why do investors keep piling into these negative “real” yielding assets? BlackRock’s systematic investment experts decode the markets to reveal why rates are so disconnected from fundamental values and what it means for your bond portfolio.
We stay tactically overweight European equities with two key events on the horizon: a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting and the German election.
During a trying time for the world in 1939, Winston Churchill famously described the largest country in the world and soon-to-be second superpower, the Soviet Union, as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”
Investing with the intent to do well while doing good is gaining traction.
Markets, and particularly cyclical stocks, have made great strides in the first six months of the year.
The pristine surface of a lake on a perfectly calm and sunny day is easy on the eyes. Yet it usually offers no insight as to what lies beneath.
Russ discusses why low vol and quality stocks are exhibiting surprisingly strong performance.
The investment opportunities are constantly changing as economic reopenings roll on.
Municipals posted another month of positive performance amid rangebound interest rates.
Over the past year, a surge of investors drove high-yield bond prices back to pre-pandemic levels.
In 1974, U.S. President Gerald Ford took office “amidst one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history,” which was characterized by double digit inflation.
“You can't always get what you wantBut if you try sometimes, well, you might findYou get what you need”“You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” The Rolling Stones (Let It Bleed, 1969)
