BlackRock’s Larry Fink warns against trying to time the market

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has urged investors to resist the temptation to time markets, emphasizing the importance of staying invested through periods of turmoil for stronger long-term returns.

In his annual chairman’s letter released recently, Fink stated, “Over time, staying invested has mattered far more than getting the timing right.” He highlighted that some of the market’s strongest days have occurred during unsettling headlines.

Fink pointed to the past two decades as a clear example, where every dollar invested in the S&P 500 grew more than eightfold. However, missing just the 10 best days during that period would have resulted in earning less than half as much.

The warning from Fink comes at a time when markets are influenced by rapid shifts in sentiment related to geopolitics, inflation, and technological disruption. The recent rally in stocks followed President Donald Trump’s announcement of halting strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after talks with Iran.

“The danger is that we focus so much on the noise that we forget what actually matters,” Fink wrote. He emphasized that the forces driving today’s headlines have been building over time, with the old model of global capitalism fracturing as countries invest in self-reliance in energy, defense, and technology.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with $14 trillion in assets under management, is closely monitoring these trends.

Fink also expressed concerns about the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, warning that it could exacerbate inequality by enriching asset owners while leaving others behind. He noted, “The massive wealth created over the past generations has mostly benefited those who already owned financial assets, and AI threatens to amplify this pattern on a larger scale.”

Companies focused on AI have been driving significant equity market gains, leading to a concentration of returns among a select group of firms and their shareholders.