BlackRock's Larry Fink: 'Portfolio of the future' includes private markets

‘Primary growth driver’

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said the “portfolio of the future” includes private markets, describing them as a “primary growth driver” for the world’s largest asset manager in the coming years, due to the potential within infrastructure investments.

In Fink's 2024 annual letter to investors, he noted that Blackrock's private markets strategies garnered $14bn of net inflows for the firm in 2023, which were driven partly by infrastructure.  Infrastructure was described as the "fastest-growing" segment of private markets due to high debt burdens for global governments and the heightened demand brought about by the energy transition. The CEO said funding for infrastructure projects cannot come from the government alone, given the high debt levels across the world. The US government has issued $11.1trn of new debt since the star...