“Mega forces, like the rise of artificial intelligence and geopolitical fragmentation, are transforming economies,” said Wei Li, Blackrock global chief investment strategist, upon the publication of Blackrock’s 2025 . “That means investors can no longer view the world in terms of business cycles or temporary deviations around stable long-term trends. Understanding the forces reshaping global economies can help investors identify unique opportunities.”

Three key investment themes were highlighted in the report: financing the future, rethinking investing and staying pro-risk.

Financing the future

“We think investors should focus more on themes and less on broad asset classes as mega forces reshape whole economies,” said Blackrock in its report. The “fundamentally different landscape” has changed investment, but investors can find opportunities in the real economy. AI and the transition to a low-carbon economy will require investment “potentially on par with the Industrial Revolution,” and these mega forces may drive the buildup of major infrastructure. This can include data centres and infrastructure to meet increasing demand for energy, like solar farms or power grids.

For Blackrock, AI is still in its “buildout phase,” which involves investment in data centres, chips and power systems to meet the needs of AI models. “Spending on this infrastructure could top $700 billion by 2030, equivalent to 2% of U.S. GDP. Investment on this scale creates a vital role for capital markets--and an opportunity for investors.” The next phases are adoption and transformation. Productivity gains thanks to AI in one sector could increase value in another sector, said the report, and things to watch out for include emerging revenue streams and cross-sector impacts.

Private markets can also play a “pivotal role” and allow “portfolios to gain unique exposure to the transformation as public markets can only fund some of it,” noted Blackrock. “For example, private markets can offer exposure to early-stage growth companies driving AI adoption and to vital infrastructure projects.” Data provider Preqin, for instance, expects the .

But is there too much focus on AI? Questions concerning overinvestment in artificial intelligence are valid, said the report. That being said, AI has the potential to “unlock new revenue streams across the whole economy” and “mega cap tech does not look overextended for now.”

Broadening investment and being dynamic

When it comes to the “rethinking investing” theme, Blackrock said in its report that “investors should broaden out where they invest,” potentially including private markets and thematic opportunities in their portfolios. “Getting granular” will be key, by, for instance, investing at company level instead of the regional level.

In addition, Blackrock argues that “more weight should be put on tactical views now. In the past, when returns fluctuated around a stable long-term trend, it made sense to put a high share of a portfolio’s risk budget into long-term allocations to smooth out those fluctuations.” But now, with increased volatility and uncertainty, it’s unlikely that a single portfolio will work across all possible scenarios, so investors need to take a more dynamic approach. New tools may play a role in the future.

“Risk-on” but staying nimble

Given all this, Blackrock is staying “pro-risk” and confident in “US corporate strength and outperformance.” US equities have outperformed their global peers and “we think that could continue,” said the report, thanks to mega forces driving corporate earnings, a favourable growth outlook, potential tax cuts and regulatory easing. “We think the AI mega force will benefit US stocks more and that’s why we stay overweight, particularly relative to international peers such as European stocks.”

On the other hand, growing US budget deficits could add to fiscal pressures, “so we favour government bonds in other developed markets.” And emerging markets like India are “well positioned” to take advantage of mega forces and potential US-China competition.

“The upshot: We are risk-on for now but stay nimble,” concluded the report. “Key signposts for changing our view include any surge in long-term bond yields or an escalation in trade protectionism.”