The Bid

In this special episode, we’ve asked some of our listeners to send in some questions about their retirement concerns. Here with me are retirement experts Anne Ackerley, Senior Advisor on Retirement and Liz Koehler, Head of US Wealth Advisor Engagement here at BlackRock. Together we’ll answer your questions about saving for retirement and give you some strategies to consider to help you become retirement ready.Sources: AARP Financial Security Trends Survey, January 2024; AARP 2022; IRS, 2024; BlackRock’s 2024 Read on Retirement Survey; Social Security Administration “When to start receiving retirement benefits”This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener.In the UK and non-European Economic Area countries this is issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited who is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and in the European Economic Area this is issued by BlackRock (Netherlands) BV who is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Latin America is a region at the cusp of a transformative era as a region. It's become a hotbed of discussion for investors worldwide, as it undergoes a remarkable convergence of forces from a new era of high rates and macro risk to the rise of Nearshoring in Mexico and the demographic changes shaping retirement.Axel Christensen, Chief Investment strategist for Latin America for the BlackRock Investment Institute, will help us explore how the tectonic shifts in demographics and the strategic embrace of infrastructure spending are creating a mosaic of investment opportunities and what makes Latin America an epicenter of global change.Sources: Mexico: Average age of the population from 1950 to 2100; World Finance “A Bright Future For Mexico”This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener.In the UK and non-European Economic Area countries this is issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited who is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and in the European Economic Area this is issued by BlackRock (Netherlands) BV who is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Infrastructure is experiencing a transformative moment, owing to the rise of remote work, the digital revolution, urbanization and a changing energy landscape driven by AI’s increasing demand for data centers. David Giordano, Global Head of BlackRock Climate Infrastructure, helps us explore the major structural forces driving this change, and examine the role of private capital in bridging the financing gap for new energy investments and how changes in supply chain strategies are influencing the infrastructure investment landscape.Sources: The Infrastructure Blueprint, BlackRock June 2024; UN Revision of World Population Prospects 2022This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener.In the UK and non-European Economic Area countries this is issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited who is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and in the European Economic Area this is issued by BlackRock (Netherlands) BV who is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

India has recently become the world's most populous country overtaking China and is projected to become the world's third largest global economy by 2027.Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, Chief Investment and portfolio strategists for the Americas at BlackRock and Tara Iyer, Chief US macro strategist for the BlackRock Investment Institute join host Oscar Pulido to uncover the various factors that are driving India's growth and what hurdles may yet lie ahead for investors.Sources: “Mapping India's growth story to mega forces”, BlackRock Investment Institute, January 2024; “Insight on India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy”, iShares market insights April 2024; IMF World Economic Outlook, Jan. 2024; BlackRock, Morningstar as of 12/31/2023; National Stock Exchange of India, BSE as of Dec. 31, 2023See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The world remains abuzz over artificial intelligence, but rapid advancement and adoption of the technology is poised to drive a significant increase in power demand, and this demand could redefine energy consumption as we know it. Today we ask the critical question: is the energy sector equipped for the AI power revolution?Will Su, of BlackRock's Fundamental Equities team, is one of BlackRock’s leading voices on all things energy. Will walks us through the sector’s pivotal role in the build-out and future of AI and digs into the potential investment opportunities and challenges.Sources: “Electricity Mix” Our world in energy, January 2024; “What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source?” Energy Information Administration, “OpenAI Presents GPT-3, a 175 Billion Parameters Language Model” Nvidia, 2020; GPT-4 Details Revealed, Patrick McGuinness, 2023; Data Centers Around The World, United States International Trade Commission 2021; “North America Data Center Trends H2 2023”, CBRE 2024; “Electric power sector CO2 emissions drop as generation mix shifts from coal to natural gas” EIA, 2021; “Electravision” JPMorgan, March 2024; “Fuel Mix” Ercot, March 2024; “Television, capturing America's attention at prime time and beyond” US bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2018.This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener.In the UK and non-European Economic Area countries this is issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited who is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and in the European Economic Area this is issued by BlackRock (Netherlands) BV who is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

American consumers, often seen as a bellwether for the global economy - have been largely resilient and healthy despite sticky inflation and higher interest rates. But, can this resilience continue as difficult market conditions persist?Lisa Yang, portfolio manager and co-head of the consumer industry “super group” within BlackRock Fundamental Equities, joins Oscar Pulido to give a pulse check on consumer resilience and the implications in the equities market.This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. In the UK and non-European Economic Area countries this is issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and in the European Economic Area this is issued by BlackRock (Netherlands) BV who is authorised and regulated by the Netherlands Authority. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI has powered stock market returns over the past year, but what are investors missing beyond AI? Carrie King, U.S. and Developed Markets CIO for BlackRock's Fundamental Equities Group, joins host Oscar Pulido to shine a light into forgotten corners of the US equity market to uncover what may be some underappreciated sources of return.Sources: BlackRock Fundamental Equities analysis with data from FactSet as of April 17, 2024; “The Looming Patent Cliff: Big Pharma Giants Brace for Fall”, Healthcare Technology Report, February 13th 2024; Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 as of April 2024This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. In the UK and non-European Economic Area countries this is issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and in the European Economic Area this is issued by BlackRock (Netherlands) BV who is authorised and regulated by the Netherlands Authority. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For more than a decade, Larry has written an annual letter not only to focus on critical long-term issues but also to start a conversation about finding solutions. This year, Larry Fink, CEO and Chairman of BlackRock is considering the challenge of retirement, why it has become an increasingly difficult proposition for too many, and what opportunities exist and will be developed to help people achieve their financial freedom.This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. In the UK and Non-European Economic Area countries, this is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In the European Economic Area, this is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You might not think of insurance as such a key input to their overall consumption basket, but the impact of the insurance industry is felt far beyond what individual consumers pay for individual policies and extends broadly throughout the supply chain as a necessary input for many industries in the production process.Mike Pensky, portfolio manager within BlackRock's Multi-Asset Group joins Oscar to help us understand the connection between insurance and inflation, the possibility for rising insurance premiums to persist, and how investors can position their portfolios in a new market regime.Sources: Insurance, Inflation, Issuance, BlackRock Insights, Dec 4th 2023; Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2024This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. In the UK and Non-European Economic Area countries, this is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In the European Economic Area, this is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The BlackRock Investment Institute has outlined five mega forces that are shaping the macroeconomic landscape and demographic divergence is another one of them. The aging of populations will limit how much major economies can produce and grow, leaving governments with less tax revenue to support rising retirement and healthcare expenses. The impact of fewer workers could result in lower corporate profits and higher government debt unless economies adapt to mitigate these pressures. So, what does this mean for investors and what risks and opportunities does this megaforce create?Nicholas Fawcett, Senior Economist in the BlackRock Investment Institute and Peter Fisher, head of BlackRock's Global Retirement Initiative join Oscar to uncover the impact of this megaforce on global economies and the potential risks and opportunities investors should consider.Sources: “The peak 65® Zone Is Here”, Retirement Income Institute, January 2024; Decoding Demographic Divergence, BlackRock, March 2024; U.N. World Population Projections (WPP) (2022): scenario assuming medium fertility; U.S. Congressional Budget Office (2024), The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034, February 2024See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bond yields are higher today than they were 20 years ago. With inflation indicators falling around the globe, the time of elevated cash rates may be drawn to a close.Investors are moving back into bonds in record numbers, with 2023 global bond ETF inflows totaling $333 billion. Yet, as global central banks appear at or near the end of a tightening cycle designed to quell the most significant surge in inflation in decades, investors could be moving even more quickly back into fixed income.  Steve Laipply, Global co-head of iShares’ fixed income ETFs joins Oscar to help us understand what has been driving investors towards, or in some cases back, to the fixed income market and what investors should be looking for as central banks appear set to loosen their grip on interest rates.Sources: ETF Flows Data: BlackRock Global Business Intelligence, as of December 31, 2023. Flows for fixed income ETFs globally totaled $265 billion in 2022, compared with $333 billion in 2023. Previous annual record was in 2021 with $282 billion; Mutual Fund Flows Data: Simfund for US MFs, Broadridge for Non-US Mutual Funds, both as of December 31, 2023. Closed end funds excluded throughout. Fixed Income Mutual Funds saw $711 billion in outflows in 2022, and $151 billion in inflows in 2023; Inflation Data: The World Bank as of Feb. 29, 2024. U.S. annual CPI for 2022 was 8.0%, compared with previous high of 13.5% in 1980. European Union CPI for 2022 was 8.8%, compared with previous high of 12.9% in 1980; Yield to Worst Data: Bloomberg, as at March, 25 2024. 3 Month US Treasury Bills at 5.38%; 10 Year US Treasury Yield at 4.25%; US High Yield (based on Markit iBoxx US Liquid High Yield Index) as at Jan. 2, 2023 was 8.7%.. and yield to worst as at Dec. 29, 2023 was 7.4%; Correlation Data: Bloomberg, as at March, 25 2024. Assessed 5 Year and 20 Year Correlation between 10 Year US Treasury Yield and S&P 500. 20 Year Correlation is 0.15%, and 5 Year Correlation is -0.03%. Based on monthly data points; Return Data: BlackRock, Bloomberg, as at March, 25 2024. High Yield references the Markit iBoxx US Liquid High Yield Index from Jan.1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023. Total Return = 12.89%;This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. In the UK and Non-European Economic Area countries, this is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In the European Economic Area, this is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the ever-evolving tapestry of geopolitics and economics, the Asia-Pacific region stands at a pivotal juncture. In this special episode, we took The Bid down under to record this episode live in Sydney. Wei Li, Global Chief Investment Strategist for BlackRock joined Oscar Pulido to discus the intricacies of high inflation, emerging competing geopolitical bloc, how a momentous global election year will impact Asia-Pacific region and what opportunities investors can expect from the region.This content is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or a solicitation. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the listener. In the UK and Non-European Economic Area countries, this is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In the European Economic Area, this is authorized and regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets.For full disclosures go to Blackrock.com/corporate/compliance/bid-disclosuresSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.