Rick Rieder said the firm is rebalancing positions in stocks most directly tied to the AI boom and cutting some broader equity exposure, while eyeing cheaper beneficiaries such as infrastructure.
BlackRock has reduced some exposure to stocks most directly tied to the artificial intelligence boom, with Rick Rieder describing the move as portfolio rebalancing rather than a loss of confidence in the theme. Rieder said the firm also cut a notable slice of its overall equity exposure, underscoring a broader effort to manage valuations and concentration risk after strong gains in a small group of AI-linked winners. The $13.9 trillion asset manager may redeploy into cheaper beneficiaries of AI adoption, including power producers, industrials and infrastructure builders tied to data center spending. The comments are consistent with Rieder’s earlier view that AI will create winners and laggards rather than echoing a dot-com-style bubble, and they come as Wall Street debates whether gains led by a narrow group of mega-cap stocks can continue through the coming earnings season.