BlackRock Deepens Push Into Private Investments for the Masses
BlackRock BLK 1.30%increase; green up pointing triangle is accelerating a push into private investments by including them in funds for 401(k) retirement plans.
The world's largest asset manager plans to offer a 401(k) target-date fund with a 5% to 20% allocation to private investments, depending on an investor's age, in the first half 2026, the company said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jobs data, trade and fiscal policies in focus with S&P 500 on cusp of record
By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) -Investors who have been captivated by recent geopolitical events are poised to shift their attention in the coming week to key economic data and looming policy deadlines to see if the torrid rally in U.S. stocks extends higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 tallied a record high this week while the benchmark S&P 500 moved to the cusp of an all-time peak. Easing tensions in the Middle East paved the way for the latest bump higher in stocks, as a conflict between Israel and Iran appeared to calm after missile strikes between the two nations had set the world on edge. Focus will shift to Washington in the coming week. President Donald Trump wants his fellow Republicans to pass a sweeping tax-cut and spending bill by July 4, while developments between the United States and trading partners are poised to capture headlines with Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs set to take effect the following week. Investors also get a crucial view into the U.S. economy with the monthly employment report due on Thursday. U.S. stock markets are closed on Friday, July 4, for the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Citigroup's U.S. economic surprise index has been weakening, indicating that data has been missing Wall Street expectations, said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments. "After some softer May data, the June data is really going to be under a microscope," Miskin said. "If the data deteriorates more, it may get the market's attention." U.S. employment is expected to have climbed by 129,000 jobs in June, according to a Reuters poll -- a modest slowdown from May's 139,000 increase. Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell in the prior week, but the unemployment rate could rise in June as more laid off people struggle to find work. "The labor market right now is front and center over the next few weeks," said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management. Employment data could factor into expectations for when the Federal Reserve will next cut interest rates, with investors also watching to see if inflation is calming enough to allow for lower rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been wary that higher tariffs could begin raising inflation, a view he told the U.S. Congress this week, although some Fed officials have talked about a stronger case for cuts and Fed fund futures trading in the past week indicated ramped-up bets for more easing this year. The level of tariffs will come into sharper view with a July 9 deadline for higher levies on a broad set of countries. Stocks have rebounded sharply since plunging in April following Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement, as the president pulled back on some of the most severe tariffs and fears about a recession eased, but markets could remain sensitive to any developments. Investors also will focus on the U.S. fiscal bill in Congress for indication of the extent of stimulus in the legislation and how much it could widen federal deficits. With a roller-coaster first half nearly complete, the S&P 500 is up more than 4% so far in 2025. Recent history has shown July has been a strong month for stocks, with the S&P 500 increasing 2.9% in July on average over the past 15 years, Wedbush analysts noted in a report this week. Also around the corner is the kick-off of second-quarter U.S. corporate earnings season in the coming weeks, with concerns over how much tariffs may be biting into company profits or affecting consumer spending. S&P 500 earnings are expected to have climbed 5.7% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to LSEG IBES data. "We've been in a geopolitically focused market over the past several weeks," said Josh Jamner, senior investment strategy analyst at ClearBridge Investments. "I think the dawn of earnings season ... will refocus the market back towards fundamentals."
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OpenAI hires team behind AI recommendation startup Crossing Minds
Crossing Minds, a startup that provides AI recommendation systems to e-commerce businesses, said on Thursday that its team is joining OpenAI. The startup was backed by Index Ventures, Shopify, Plug and Play, and Radical Ventures, and had raised more than $13.5 million across multiple rounds, according to Crunchbase. Crossing Minds largely worked with e-commerce companies to improve their personalization and recommendation systems. The company claims it studies customers' on-site behavior data to gather insights on their shopping preferences without compromising privacy. 'Joining OpenAI allows us to bring our work — and our values — into a mission we deeply respect: to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. We're thrilled to bring our experience and energy to a team that's setting the direction for the future of AI. We're excited to learn, to contribute, and to help shape what's next,' the startup's co-founders wrote in a post on its website. Alexandre Robicquet, one of the co-founders, has updated his bio on LinkedIn, which now reads 'Research, Post-training and Agents at OpenAI.' It is not clear if all of Crossing Minds' team is joining OpenAI. Crossing Minds' website also says that the company won't take up any more clients. Per its archived 'About' page, Crossing Mind previously said it was trusted by Intuit, Anthropic, Udacity and Chanel. AI companies have built a plethora of tools to help customers shop. Google and Perplexity have launched AI features to improve recommendations, while startups like Daydream have received massive investments to launch AI shopping assistants. Earlier this year, OpenAI updated ChatGPT to provide recommendations, images, and reviews for items its users ask questions about. OpenAI didn't immediately return a request for comment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
BofA's Hartnett Sees Risk of Stock Bubble on Fed Pivot, Tax Cuts
(Bloomberg) -- The risk of a speculative stock-market bubble is increasing as expectations of US interest-rate cuts draw massive investment flows into equities, according to Bank of America Corp.'s Michael Hartnett. Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown US State Budget Wounds Intensify From Trump, DOGE Policy Shifts With the US moving closer to trade deals with China and other partners, tariff wars and geopolitics are becoming less of a concern for investors. Instead, they are pricing a greater chance of Federal Reserve rate cuts and waiting to see if President Donald Trump's tax bill is passed in Congress next month. A 'pivot from tariffs to tax cuts/rate cut' could lead to a high risk of a bubble in the second half of the year, and a further weakening of the dollar, Hartnett's team at BofA wrote in a note. Already this year, $164 billion has flowed into US equities, on course for the third-largest annual inflow in history, the note said, citing data from EPFR Global. The S&P 500 index is within striking distance of a record high, while 10-year Treasury yields have slid more than 30 basis points off their May highs. Swap markets are currently expecting that the Fed will cut rates four times over the next 12 months. The 'best way to gain exposure is via 'long US growth/long global value' equity barbell,' Hartnett added, referring to an investment strategy that seeks to strike a balance between risk and reward. Yet absent a bubble in artificial intelligence, earnings growth acceleration is the 'most plausible upside surprise' for US and global stocks in the second half of the year, the team added. America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push Apple Test-Drives Big-Screen Movie Strategy With F1 Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
