Jeff Spiegel of BlackRock - Megatrends: The Biggest Trends Shaping Our Future

Mar 22, 2022

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New technologies, economic shifts, demographic changes, urbanization, and climate change are global trends that have a significant impact on society and the economy. They are also shaping the way people invest their money. While these megatrends offer investors a great way to tap into new markets and opportunities, how can they be effectively incorporated into portfolios?

In this episode, Rusty and Robyn talk with Jeff Spiegel, Director, US Head of iShares Megatrend, Sector and International ETFs at BlackRock, a global asset manager and technology provider.

At BlackRock, Jeff manages product, sales, and marketing for the Megatrend and International franchises.

In this episode, Jeff talks with Rusty and Robyn about megatrend investing strategy, the general guidelines for incorporating megatrends into a portfolio, and the top three investment themes that investors need to keep an eye on in 2022.

Key Takeaways

[03:49] - What is a megatrend investing strategy?
[05:39] - The role of technological breakthroughs in megatrend investing.
[06:47] - How demographics and social change fit into the five megatrends.
[10:23] - The difference between personalized medicine and precision medicine.
[11:43] - Why rapid urbanization is a topic of interest today.
[13:08] - How climate change and resource scarcity are both part of the megatrends.
[15:00] - What investors should know about emerging global wealth.
[16:39] - How thematic investing has performed over the past couple of years.
[21:05] - How iShares views megatrend ETF returns and risks.
[23:59] - General guidelines for incorporating megatrends into a portfolio.
[27:29] - The top three investment themes that investors need to keep an eye on in 2022.
[32:28] - How Jeff's knowledge and expertise influence his personal investing.
[33:46] - How Jeff maintains his physical and mental health.

Quotes

[24:03] - "A great investor, a great financial advisor, or a great institutional investor who's thinking holistically about their portfolio starts with asset allocation. That's the name of the game in terms of the overall most important determinant of the returns in your portfolio." - Jeff Spiegel

[25:41] - "The most thoughtful way to incorporate megatrends into a portfolio is to actually just start a portfolio or pick the megatrends in a way that keeps your intended asset allocation in line. Don't take unintended bets in technology, on size, in sector or geography just by adding those megatrends securities in." - Jeff Spiegel

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