Blackrock calls for longer Term Investment

Asset management giant BlackRock today unveiled a high-profile campaign designed to engender a longer-term global investment culture.

“Investing for a New World”, which was launched with a four-page insert in global newspapers including the Financial Times, seeks to encourage investors to build “more dynamic and diverse” portfolios, with the aim of overcoming low yields and volatile markets.

The initiative sets out five practical solutions to help both retail and institutional investors use a wider range of assets, strategies and investment styles. These include:

·  “Rethinking the cost of holding cash and how even low rates of inflation erode its purchasing power over time;

·  Seeking new sources of income with the potential to provide for current financial needs as well as build wealth over the long term;

·  Considering the potential of alternative investment vehicles to provide above average returns and manage risk as they are less likely to move in tandem with stocks and bonds;

·  Actively employing index-based products, such as exchange traded funds, to access a wider range of markets efficiently and effectively; and

·  Taking advantage of increasing longevity by re-evaluating risk tolerances and asset allocations in light of longer investment horizons.”

Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York today, Laurence Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and chief executive officer, reinforced the importance of long-term investing.

“In this new world, we can help rebuild confidence, get markets moving again and restore growth by turning short-term savers into long-term investors,” he said. “It’s our responsibility as leaders of business, finance and government. All of us must answer the call.”

Fink added: “We have to step up to offer guidance and provide answers. To finance longer lifespans, we must convince individuals to start investing now for the long term. Their longevity is an asset to be leveraged, not a curse.”