Why BlackRock is Building A New Investment Market... In Saudi Arabia

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#blackrock #finance #business

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Blackrock the world’s largest asset manager has recently announced that it will be launching a new investment platform in Saudi Arabia with an anchor investment of five billion dollars [$5,000,000,000] coming from the kingdoms own sovereign wealth fund.

BlackRock has been a long-time champion of investments based off Environmental, Social and Governance criteria which obviously vibes well with the authoritarian Petro-state.

The companies CEO Larry Fink said in an interview that the Kingdom “has become an increasingly attractive destination for international investments” but that’s not really true…

So what is Blackrock ACTUALLY doing in Saudi Arabia?

Blackrock is best known for creating mutual and exchange traded funds for individuals and other institutions to invest in.

Their biggest exchange traded funds are mostly passive indexes that makes buying a broad portfolio easier for regular investors. They take a small fee for managing these index funds but because those funds are so popular even a small fee generates a LOT of revenue.

The trillions of dollars in assets they manage through these investment vehicles has drawn a lot of criticism from people claiming that they secretly control the world… normally the help of some laser eyes…

Now while they do manage trillions of dollars in assets, it’s not THEIR assets and there are strict mandates outlining what they can and can’t do with the funds that they manage on behalf of the millions of investor they work for, but that doesn't mean that the company doesn’t deserve a healthy amount of criticism.

If anything, the narrative that they secretly own all of the worlds biggest companies distracts from the actual shady stuff that they and other large investment firms do.

The company also has operations providing advice, technology and investment infrastructure to banks, pension funds and even entire governments which is what it is doing in Saudi Arabia.

Blackrock first set up an office in the Kingdom back in 2019 with the initial intention of providing financial services to “sophisticated investors” according to the companies own website.

The remote branch of the Blackrock global operation hasn’t really done much until the announcement earlier this year that it would be partnering up with the Public Investment Fund to launch an investment platform with the stated goal of making it easier for international investors to invest into Saudi Arabia as well as other countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The pitch is that these markets are growing and there aren’t as many investors operating in the region so there are potentially outsized returns to be made while markets in the west are overvalued.

Big investors already know this… but there is a very good reason why they don’t invest in places like the middle east… and that’s because they are INCREDIBLY risky, and outside of oil… and constructing dumb buildings FUNDED by oil, there really isn’t that much to invest in.

A well-known American company like Blackrock could ease these concerns with big investors and act as a middle man between them and the projects actually getting their money, which is really, when you think about it, ALL that their company does.

[iamlaurenmoe]

As smart investors who recognise the actual worth of the underlying company, we never let the current market price dictate the calibre and success of our investments; instead, we let the market work for us. We also take advantage of other people's feelings and ignorance to acquire excellent businesses at a discount.

[houlipaints]

BlackRock is our timeline's version of Vault Tech

[chasemiller]

Reminder that BlackRock considers nuclear energy as much as an evil as racism.

[incurableromantic]

"WTF is BlackRock (actually) Doing In Saudi Arabia?"

I don't know - but I bet it's really, *really* evil.

[Connor_Roush]

Well let’s see: Evil company goes into a totalitarian country for business? Seems to be a marriage made in hell. Lmao.

[tinytony]

The wisest thing that should be on everyone mind currently should be to invest in different streams of income that doesn't depend on the govt. Especially with the current economic crisis around the word. This is still a good time to invest in Gold, silver and digital currencies (BTC, ETH...

[jerrycampbell-utyf]

Opinions on the market diverge; some claim overvaluation due to rapid gains, while others cite strong economic fundamentals justifying high valuations. Raises concern for my $600K equities going 8% up and 20% down. Should i hold on or sell off my positions and hold cash?.

[ryanwilliams]

It was a very bad decision to remove the Glass-Steagall Act in the late 1990s, which led to the spectacular failure of huge banks during the financial crisis of 2007–2008. To prevent another disaster, Dodd-Frank and this statute both need to be reestablished right away. What happened with Wells Fargo is only the beginning of what will happen if nothing is done to address the current situation.

[DrEhrfurchtgebietend]

I love that the CEO's name is actually Fink

[SeanTalkoff]

The continuously changing economic conditions in our society have made it necessary for people to find additional sources of income, thus I am looking at the stock market to fuel my retirement goal of $3m, my only concern is the recent market crash.

[ruthdenham]

Great video! I really have a question. For someone with less than $5, 000 to invest, how would you recommend we enter the crypto market? I am looking at studying some traders and copying their strategy rather than investing myself and losing money emotionally. What's your take on this approach?

[annemoore]

Bring Stephanie Janis Stiefel on the show. She changed my life Financially I managed to grow a nest egg of around 120k to over a Million. I'm especially grateful to Stephanie Janis Stiefel, for her expertise and exposure to different areas of the market.

[Makoto]

I despise Blackrock and how much negative influence they've had on entertainment and buisnesses.

[ovs]

they know the arabs have a lot of money and don't know sht about business 🤣🤣

[MollyShorters]

BlackRock moving into Saudi Arabia? Interesting... Just when I finally hit that $21k emergency fund milestone, they go and build a whole new market! 😅 Guess it's time to figure out where to start, or maybe I should’ve bought more coffee and crypto instead. Anyone else looking for that headstart, or is it just me?

[DorathyJoy]

I think investors should always put their cash to work, especially In 2024, we'll start to see more market diversification. I'm hoping to invest about $350k of my savings in stocks this year. Hope to make millions this 2024.

[RaymondcrawRaymondCrawley]

I feel investors should be focusing on under-the-radar stocks, and considering the current rollercoaster nature of the stock market, Because 35% of my $270k portfolio comprises of plummeting stocks which were once revered and i don't know where to go here out of devastation.

[speeddemon]

Another step towards the world of Cyberpunk

[xcalabur]

Larry Fink named the company after his heart

[Sam_ad]

When the oil run out = when the internet goes offline= when the sea turn fire

Such hypothetical can be said about any place