BlackRock plays defence by cutting equity risk, raising cash

Defensive stance: The investment giant is joining a number of financial institutions taking a more cautious stance in the second half as worries about a fragile global economy and the US-China trade war linger. — Reuters

Tokyo: The world’s biggest money manager is battening down the hatches heading into the third quarter, raising cash and taking a “modestly” more defensive investing stance.

“The key change in our outlook is that we now see trade and geopolitical frictions as the principal driver of the global economy and markets,” BlackRock Inc’s Investment Institute concluded in its mid-year 2019 outlook.