BlackRock's Chief Global Investment Strategist, Wei Li, continues to advocate for an overweight stance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) investments, specifically favoring semiconductors and hardware, according to recent statements. This position remains intact even as the market faces increased risks, including potential liquidity drains and rising interest rates. Li emphasizes that the "Micro is Macro" theme for 2026 highlights AI spending as a primary driver of the macroeconomic picture, a significant shift from previous periods dominated by top-down monetary and fiscal policies. She points to the unprecedented speed of AI spending, with data center construction alone estimated to reach $6 trillion by the end of the decade, a number that is still growing.
Li's conviction in AI stems from strong earnings momentum, particularly in the US, driven by the AI buildout. BlackRock remains positive on US equities, viewing AI as being in its early "supercycle" phase, with incremental margins in the US technology sector exceeding operating margins. She looks for bottlenecks and scarcity in the AI theme rather than trying to pick application layer winners. However, Li acknowledges potential red flags, such as liquidity dynamics from corporate debt issuance and the impact of large tech IPOs from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which could shift market direction in the near term. The biggest macro question, she notes, is whether AI can truly deliver the productivity gains needed to sustain current extraordinary corporate earnings.
Despite the risks, Li's investment philosophy prioritizes growth-oriented exposures. BlackRock prefers equities—specifically tech, US, and emerging market equities—over credit and global government bonds, especially long-duration US government bonds. This strategy is underpinned by the belief that fundamentals drive long-term returns. While some, like BlackRock's Rick Rieder, employ hedging strategies to manage rapid price action in AI-related stocks, Li's overall outlook remains bullish on the AI sector, believing the current market's elevated margins suggest earnings can endure.
