BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink said stocks may decline as much as 15 percent because of political risks in China, Japan, France and the U.S.
“We have a lot of economic issues we have to confront,” Fink said at the DealBook conference in New York.
If investors don’t have all of their have money in equities now, they should wait two to three months for more clarity about economic and political conditions before deciding whether to buy, he said.
Fink, whose firm is the world’s largest money manager, with $4.1 trillion in assets, said last year he would invest all of his personal wealth in equities.
He’s tempered that optimism this year following political stalemates, saying in January he had lowered his expectations for the stock market in the first quarter after being disappointed by the bill U.S. lawmakers passed to avert spending cuts and tax increases.
Last month, he said the U.S. could have a lower equity market following the political debate on the debt ceiling.
Today, Fink said if investors are already invested 100 percent in equities, they should keep their money there.
He has said in the past he’s bullish on the U.S. over the longer term, citing a strong banking system, an improving housing market and the nation’s large supply of natural gas.
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