The ongoing war didn’t feature much in Larry Fink’s latest annual letter, but what did is AI — unsurprising given the amount of developments in that space since he wrote his last letter, when energy infrastructure and pragmatism took precedence.

Another topic that’s once again absent? ESG and climate — topics that featured prominently in his older letters but not since last year, as the AI infrastructure narrative begins to push them further into the margins and bring the more balanced concept of “energy pragmatism” into focus.

Why Fink’s letter matters: He’s the co-founder of the world’s largest asset manager, with some USD 14 tn. His annual letter to shareholders is now regularly read and scrutinized by the world’s top investors and traders.

So, what about AI? Fink mentions its potential, yes, but also its potential downside. He argues that asset ownership remains the driving line in wealth creation, and that AI risks amplifying that gap unless more people gain access to markets. “Companies with the data, infrastructure, and capital to deploy AI at scale are positioned to benefit disproportionately” from the AI boom, Fink cautions.

And the solution? More investing, Fink says. “When market capitalization rises but ownership remains narrow, prosperity can feel increasingly distant to those on the outside,” he explains.

Financial education is part of it, but so is widening the avenues for participation. Early-stage investing accounts for children is an option and can often lead to wider economic growth further down the line. Better social security systems, tweaked for longer-term investments and wider access to tokenization, are others. His argument? The growth of the individual should come with the growth of a country. “[Y]our future and your nation’s future become linked. You help finance its growth. It helps finance yours,” he writes.

Yes, but: The letter fails to acknowledge that it’s not just the lack of access to capital markets that’s stopping people from investing, but also the lack of access to capital itself, as the Financial Times ’ Simon Mundy writes.

You can read the full letter here, and read what others are saying on: Bloomberg | Reuters | The Wall Street Journal | CNBC.

TASI

11,090

+0.1% (YTD: +5.7%)

MSCI Tadawul 30

1,496

+0.1% (YTD: +7.8%)

NomuC

22,719

+0.7% (YTD: -2.5%)

USD : SAR (SAMA)

USD 3.75 Sell

USD 3.75 Buy

Interest rates

4.25% repo

3.75% reverse repo

EGX30

47,002

-1.0% (YTD: +12.4%)

ADX

9,597

-0.1% (YTD: -4.0%)

DFM

5,511

-0.1% (YTD: -8.9%)

S&P 500

6,369

-1.7% (YTD: -7.0%)

FTSE 100

9,967

-0.1% (YTD: +0.2%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,506

-1.1% (YTD: -4.9%)

Brent crude

USD 112.57

+4.2%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 3.03

+3.3%

Gold

USD 4,524

+2.6%

BTC

USD 66,755

+1.1% (YTD: -23.8%)

Sukuk/bond market index

920.19

+0.9% (YTD: +0.1%)

S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk

148.74

-0.4% (YTD: -2.1%)

VIX (Volatility Index)

31.05

+13.2% (YTD: +107.7%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI rose 0.1% on Thursday on turnover of SAR 5.4 bn. The index is up 5.7% YTD.

In the green: Saleh Alrashed (+10.0%), Yansab (+7.2%), and Kingdom Holding (+6.9%).

In the red: Amak (-3.0%), Rasan (-2.5%), and Arabian Drilling (-2.5%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC rose 0.7% on Thursdayon turnover of SAR 17.8 mn. The index is down 2.5% YTD.

In the green: Riyal (+20.0%), Almodawat (+16.2%), and Digital Research (+14.3%).

In the red: Paper Home (-8.3%), Tharwah (-6.0%), and KnowledgeNet (-5.5%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Saudi Arabian Refineries Company’s board recommended 66.7% capital hike via a rights issue to fund investment projects, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul on Thursday. The SAR 300 mn increase is still pending regulatory and shareholder approval. Alinma Capital was tapped as financial advisor.

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