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Pro: 60/40 portfolios

5 d ago

BlackRock’s Fabio Osta calls the AI buildout a “once in a lifetime” investment shift that is turbo-charging private markets appetite and driving a move away from the traditional 60/40 equities-bonds portfolio mix, according to a CNBC interview at the IPEM Global conference in Paris. Osta, managing director and head of the alternatives specialists team, EMEA wealth at BlackRock, said private markets are becoming “more accessible, more holistic and more transparent” for wealthy individual investors. He noted that both institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals show “great appetite” for private markets as supply shocks, inflation pressures and bond market volatility pressure the 60/40 model. “We are entering a new continuum for blending public and private markets,” Osta told CNBC. He recommends a 50/30/20 split of equities, bonds, and private markets for wealth clients. Global alternative assets under management are expected to grow from $20 trillion to $30 trillion by 2030, driven by institutional and wealth client demand. Osta sees AI as a core private markets opportunity, evolving from a micro to a macro theme with implications across regions, sectors, and asset classes. BlackRock views AI in three phases: the early buildout requiring scaled innovation, followed by adoption, then transformation over the next decade. He highlighted Mistral’s €3 billion ($3.49 billion) fundraise, in which BlackRock participated, as a “prime example” of AI-private markets tie-ups. Osta also identified energy transition, demographics, and urbanization as mega trends shaping private markets, stressing that selectivity is key within that opportunity set.