Perspectives What Fifty Years of Markets Can Tell Us About Today
Mar 30, 2026
Abhishek Gupta, MSCI researcher who traces decades of market patterns; Christine Berg, MSCI index leader experienced in index design; Kristy Akullian, BlackRock strategist tracking ETF flows. They discuss market concentration and the rise of AI-linked mega caps. They explore unwinding home bias and growing international ETF flows. They cover index innovation, factor tools, and hidden geopolitical and supply-chain exposures.
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Tilt Portfolios Toward International Momentum
- Consider increasing international allocations to capture differentiated returns and reduce home-country concentration.
- Kristy Akullian highlights emerging market ETFs gathered nearly $32 billion YTD and international made up ~50% of early-year inflows.
Indexing Evolved Into A Flexible Toolkit
- Indexing evolved from active benchmarks to a broad toolkit including factors, ESG, and proprietary IP.
- Christine Berg traces the path from MSCI's first benchmark to index-engineered ETFs and integrated data capabilities.
Today's Concentration Is Profitable And Infrastructure Embedded
- Market concentration is common historically, but today's leaders are profitable firms embedded in infrastructure.
- Abhishek Gupta compares past bubbles to today's AI-linked mega caps which generate large cash flows and network effects.