BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has recorded a partial exit from securities directly linked to the development of artificial intelligence. The company's top manager, Rick Rieder, publicly confirmed that the team has reduced its stake in a number of key AI positions. This decision is not a reversal of long-term strategy, but, according to him, a planned portfolio rebalancing.
It is worth understanding the scale: BlackRock manages a record $13.9 trillion in client funds. Every move by this giant is a litmus test for the market. Rieder explained that the reductions affected companies whose profits are most heavily tied to the AI boom. This is not about pessimism regarding the sector, but about simply locking in profits against the backdrop of the impressive rally of recent months.
"In some companies most closely associated with AI, we have slightly reduced our stake and adjusted the structure," Rieder noted. He emphasized that simultaneously, the overall share of equities in the portfolio was also slightly reduced. This is a classic defensive maneuver: shifting part of the capital into less volatile sectors that benefit from AI adoption but do not directly depend on it — for example, electricity producers, industrial companies, and data center builders.
Divergence on Wall Street
There is no longer unity in the market regarding AI strategy. JPMorgan advises looking at cheaper chip manufacturers, while Morgan Stanley is betting on cloud infrastructure providers. In this regard, BlackRock demonstrates a more conservative and selective approach, which fully aligns with their January forecast for 2026: success will be determined not simply by investments in AI, but by real returns and strict asset selection.
Notably, amid the general cooling towards AI giants, BlackRock officially recommends allocating from 1% to 2% of a portfolio to bitcoin (BTC). This appears to be a conscious diversification: moving part of the capital from the overheated technology sector into a digital asset that is increasingly perceived by institutions as a hedge against inflation and correlation with traditional markets.
Analyst's opinion: BlackRock's actions are not panic, but mature risk management. Funds see that capital concentration in the "Magnificent Seven" has reached historical highs, and the S&P 500 is being held up by an extremely narrow circle of issuers. Locking in profits in AI securities and the flow of liquidity into infrastructure sectors and bitcoin is a signal that "easy money" in AI is over, and the market is entering a phase of high volatility and strict selection. Retail investors should take note: the era of mindless buying of AI stocks is coming to an end.