The Bid

Artificial intelligence continues to reshape economies and markets, but its rapid expansion is also exposing new constraints across energy, infrastructure, labor, and capital. As investors navigate an increasingly complex landscape, the debate has shifted from AI's potential to the practical realities of building the systems that support it. In this episode of The Bid , host Oscar Pulido speaks wi...

Inflation and investing are once again front and center as markets assess a new mix of price pressures. In this Ask Me Anything episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido is joined by Helen Jewell, BlackRock’s International Chief Investment Officer for Fundamental Equities, and Tom Becker, senior portfolio manager on BlackRock’s Global Tactical Asset Allocation team. Together, they explore what is driv...

Financial market infrastructure is often invisible to investors, yet it powers every trade, settlement, and ownership record across capital markets. As technology evolves, tokenization is emerging as a new way to represent and transfer financial assets, raising questions about how markets may operate in the future. In this episode of The Bid , Oscar Pulido speaks with Rob Goldstein, Chief Operatin...

Asia infrastructure investing is becoming central to the global energy transition as rising demand, energy security concerns, and the need for more resilient systems accelerate capital deployment across the region. In Southeast Asia, the opportunity is not only about replacing old systems, but building new infrastructure at scale for a growing economy. In this episode of The Bid , host Oscar Pulid...

ETFs in Asia have grown significantly since the global financial crisis, but their role is changing. What began as a way to access markets is now expanding into broader portfolio applications as investors face more complex market conditions. In this episode of The Bid, Oscar Pulido speaks with Christian Obrist, Head of iShares Distribution in Asia, and Nick Peach, Head of iShares Asia Pacific at B...

Asia has often been viewed as a long-term growth story, but its role in global markets is becoming more immediate. The region now represents a significant share of global GDP and listed companies, while operating across distinct economic and policy cycles. In this episode of The Bid , Oscar Pulido speaks with Aarti Angara, Head of Global Product Solutions in Asia Pacific at BlackRock. They examine...

Retirement systems are undergoing a structural shift as traditional pensions decline and individuals take on greater responsibility for financial outcomes. Longer lifespans and evolving capital markets are making retirement planning more complex and consequential. Oscar Pulido speaks with Nick Nefouse, Global Head of Retirement Solutions at BlackRock. They discuss how defined contribution plans, t...

Crypto investing is at a crossroads as digital assets move from speculative beginnings toward broader institutional adoption and integration into capital markets. As volatility persists and infrastructure evolves, investors are increasingly asking not what crypto is—but what role it plays in portfolios. Host Oscar Pulido is joined by Robbie Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, and Dan M...

Portfolio construction is being redefined as investors face a fundamentally different market regime. Higher inflation, shifting interest rate dynamics, and accelerating megaforces like AI and geopolitics are challenging long-held assumptions about diversification and asset allocation across capital markets. In this episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido sits down with Vivek Paul, Head of Portfolio...

The S&P 493 is gaining attention as investors look beyond the Magnificent Seven and reassess where growth and diversification may come from in today’s equity markets. With market concentration at historic highs, a handful of mega cap companies have driven much of the S&P 500’s returns, raising questions about what lies beneath the surface. In this episode of The Bid , host Oscar Pulido spe...

AI and bond markets are becoming increasingly interconnected as artificial intelligence reshapes capital demand, market structure, and investing approaches across fixed income. As inflation regimes shift and traditional diversification dynamics evolve, investors are rethinking the role bonds play in portfolios. In this episode of The Bid , host Oscar Pulido speaks with Jeff Rosenberg, Senior Fixed...

Private markets are moving from the sidelines of institutional portfolios into the mainstream of wealth management. As companies stay private longer and financing increasingly happens outside public exchanges, investors are beginning to rethink how broad the traditional investment universe really is. The shift is raising a new question for portfolios: should investors be looking beyond public mark...

Alternative investing is moving from a niche allocation to a core portfolio conversation. As volatility returns, interest rates reset higher, AI accelerates capital spending, and fiscal deficits expand, investors are reassessing what diversification really means. In a world where stocks and bonds can move together and macro forces dominate markets, traditional portfolio frameworks are under pressu...

Emerging markets are back in focus in 2026 — not just as a cyclical trade, but as investors reassess performance leadership, diversification, and where growth is showing up in a shifting global paradigm. After a long stretch of disappointing returns, emerging markets have started the year strongly, alongside record interest from global investors. But the case for EM today is less about a single st...

The K-shaped consumer is redefining the outlook for the U.S. economy. While overall spending remains resilient, growth is increasingly concentrated among higher-income households, creating widening gaps across income levels. As policy shifts, AI adoption, and healthcare innovations reshape behavior, the consumer landscape is becoming more uneven. In this episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido is jo...

Skilled trades are becoming one of the most important — and overlooked — drivers of the global infrastructure boom. As trillions of dollars flow into energy systems, transportation networks, telecoms, and AI data centers, the constraint is no longer just capital — it’s labor. The scale of the infrastructure buildout is historic, but delivering it depends on the availability of trained workers. In...

Powering AI is no longer just a technology story — it’s an energy and infrastructure story reshaping capital markets and the global economy. As artificial intelligence scales from training to real-world inference, electricity demand is accelerating at a pace few anticipated. In this episode of The Bid , host Oscar Pulido is joined by Will Su from BlackRock’s Fundamental Equities Group to examine h...

Thematic investing is increasingly shaping how investors interpret markets heading into 2026, as artificial intelligence, geopolitical fragmentation, and infrastructure constraints intersect across the global economy. Jay Jacobs, Head of U.S. Equity ETFs at BlackRock, joins Oscar to discuss why mega forces are becoming harder to ignore—and harder to diversify away from—than in past market cycles....

Retirement planning is becoming more complex as careers grow less linear, lifespans extend, and financial decisions start earlier in life. From early-career savers to small business owners and those approaching retirement, people are asking how to build financial security while staying flexible in an unpredictable world. In this Ask Me Anything episode of The Bid , host Oscar Pulido is joined by J...

Hedge fund strategies are gaining renewed attention as market volatility rises and traditional stock and bond diversification becomes less reliable. With inflation uncertainty, shifting monetary policy, and growing macro instability, investors are reassessing how different sources of return and risk management show up across capital markets. In this episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido speaks wit...

Global markets are entering 2026 amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, structural shifts in the global order, and rapid technological change. Recorded live from the World Economic Forum in Davos, this episode of The Bid examines the macroeconomic and geopolitical forces shaping the year ahead. Host Oscar Pulido is joined by Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock, and Tom Donilon, Vice...

AI investment, evolving earnings leadership, and shifting global dynamics are redefining stock market trends as investors enter 2026. Companies are deploying unprecedented capital toward data centers, compute, and productivity-enhancing technologies, while rate cuts and supply-chain realignment reshape the macro backdrop. These forces are changing how fundamentals, valuations, and sector growth pa...

This week, the focus is on diversification—and why it’s getting harder to achieve. Portfolio Strategist Natalie Gill explains how the “diversification mirage,” a key theme in BII’s 2026 outlook, is now showing up in real time. A small set of megaforces is increasingly dictating equity performance, meaning traditional attempts to diversify—whether toward equal-weighted indices or new regions—can am...

As The Bid takes a short break for the holidays, we’re introducing listeners to Market Take, the weekly macro podcast from the BlackRock Investment Institute. Market Take offers fast, digestible insights on what’s moving markets - and this week, the focus is squarely on the labor market. Senior Economist Nicholas Fawcett breaks down why softer U.S. labor data is reinforcing expectations for anothe...

AI-driven investment, rising leverage and shifting market dynamics are reshaping the 2026 stock market outlook. As companies accelerate spending on data centers, chips and digital infrastructure, micro-level decisions are increasingly influencing the capital markets and broader economy. In this episode of The Bid, host Oscar Pulido speaks with Jean Boivin, Head of the BlackRock Investment Institut...