The Bid

Ibrahim Kanan, Head of U.S. Core Equity at BlackRock with expertise in U.S. equities and active stock selection. He explores the S&P 493 — companies outside the mega caps. Discussion covers why earnings growth is broadening, how AI spending spreads across sectors, where opportunities appear in industrials, healthcare, consumer and financials, and why stock selection now matters more.

Jeff Rosenberg, Senior Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at BlackRock Systematic, specializes in systematic fixed income and AI-driven bond strategies. He discusses how AI is driving capital demand and debt issuance, how machine learning and generative AI upgrade credit research and sentiment tools, and how ETFs and electronification are changing liquidity and price discovery in bond markets.

Jon Diorio, Head of Product and Alternatives at BlackRock U.S. Wealth, talks private markets and alternative investments in plain terms. He explains why companies stay private longer and how access has widened for individual investors. He covers liquidity differences, longer time horizons, and how private assets can be slotted into portfolios. He also flags the need for due diligence and better advisor tools.

Conversations about why traditional diversification struggles in an AI-driven, high-volatility world. Discussions of private markets, infrastructure and the tradeoffs between liquidity and long-duration opportunity. Overviews of hedge fund and systematic strategies that hunt dispersion. Exploration of gold, bitcoin and digital assets as alternative monetary diversifiers.

Sam Vecht, a BlackRock emerging markets portfolio manager with on-the-ground experience, and Alex Brazier, BlackRock’s global head of investment and portfolio solutions, discuss why emerging markets have regained investor attention in 2026. They explore dispersion across countries and sectors. They highlight under-owned regions like Latin America and parts of the Middle East, AI-related exposures, and how investors are accessing EM through selective, active approaches.

Lisa Yang, Portfolio Manager and Co-Head of BlackRock’s Consumer Industry Group, tracks retail and consumer shifts. She breaks down a K-shaped U.S. consumer with higher-income households driving growth. She highlights why discounters and affordable luxury are winning. She explores how GLP-1s change food and apparel demand. She explains AI-driven agentic commerce and its impact on retail discovery and advertising.

Sandra Lawson, BlackRock corporate affairs leader analyzing labor-market impacts of infrastructure and AI. Claire Chamberlain, BlackRock social impact chief focused on workforce development and training pathways. They discuss the $85 trillion infrastructure demand, which trades are needed, apprenticeship-based paid training, supply-demand imbalances, and how philanthropy and partners can scale pathways to skilled-trade careers.

Will Su, a BlackRock fundamental equities analyst focused on AI and energy, explains how AI’s growth is becoming an electricity and infrastructure story. He discusses why bigger models and inference drive surging power needs. He outlines data centers at city scale, the rise of bring-your-own-power and natural gas, and where renewables, storage, and nuclear fit into the build-out.

Jay Jacobs, Head of U.S. Equity ETFs at BlackRock, brings quick, market-focused perspective. He explores AI as a usage-driven story, the rising role of infrastructure and its physical constraints, and how geopolitical fragmentation is reshaping defense and supply chains. Short, sharp takes on where thematic forces may concentrate capital in 2026.

Jaime Magyera, Head of BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory and Retirement Businesses, offers practical retirement planning expertise. She reframes retirement as a transition. She stresses starting early, staying invested, and keeping plans flexible for non-linear careers. She discusses succession and retirement plans for small business owners and how professional advice differs from social media tips.