BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Thursday he’s optimistic about financial markets as the economy attempts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am incredibly bullish on the markets,” Fink said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He noted that a host of factors are likely to propel markets higher in the near term, even as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hover near record levels.
“I believe because of monetary stimulus, fiscal stimulus, the cash on the sidelines, earnings, the markets are OK. Markets are going to continue to be stronger,” said the co-founder and chairman of the world’s largest asset manager.
“A big reason why there’s so much cash sitting on the sidelines during Covid and during remote working our behaviors have changed dramatically,” Fink explained, noting the amount of money many commuters are saving by not going into work.
“Whether the money is coming from a stimulus check or is coming from savings or behavior changes for savings, I think it’s fantastic that we’re seeing more people either investing for the long term or even trading,” he added.
Fink also commented on BlackRock’s institutional client base, which includes pensions funds, saying climate change and inflation risk are bigger concerns to them than cryptocurrencies.
Fink on Covid vaccines, budget deficits
The BlackRock CEO cautioned near-term risks to the stock market do exist. Fink said the arrival of coronavirus variants that dramatically reduce the effectiveness of Covid vaccines is the biggest one.
Long term, Fink said, the government deficit — which has grown as the U.S. Congress passed trillions of dollars worth of pandemic stimulus to support the economy— poses a more of a threat.
“Deficits right now are not a big issue, and that’s what the markets are saying,” Fink contended. “They’re not a big issue because the amount of money that’s on the sideline, the amount of capital that is trying to be put to work.”
However, Fink said the strength of the economy in the years ahead could change his outlook.
“If we don’t have economic growth that is sustainable over the next 10 years — and I’m saying economic growth that is above 3% — our deficits are going to matter, and they are going to elevate interest rates at some time,” he said.
Fink’s comments came after BlackRock reported first-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations. The company’s assets under management also increased to just over $9 trillion, up 39% from $6.47 trillion in the same quarter a year ago.