black rock predicts that infrastructure and cybersecurity initiatives will shine in 2025.
Jay Jacobs, the firm’s U.S. head of thematic active ETFs, said the artificial intelligence boom was a major catalyst.
“We’re still in the early stages of the AI adoption cycle,” he told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week.
Jacobs said AI companies need to build data centers. Plus, keeping that data safe is also a sound investment strategy for the new year.
“When you think about data, the more valuable your data becomes, the more you want to invest in cybersecurity,” he said. “We think this is really beneficial for cybersecurity.” [and the] The software community is experiencing very rapid revenue growth based on this AI. ”
Jacobs believes there are also broader implications in terms of supporting infrastructure.
“I think what people forget is that as magical as technology is, the actual physical things that power that technology, whether it’s power, data centers, real estate, chips, It doesn’t just exist on earth.” Something physical has to happen in the ether or in the cloud. It means energy, it means more materials like copper, it means more real estate. You really need to think about things like the underlying physical infrastructure. ” he added.
In other words, for Jacobs, expanding the scope of his investments is the theme.
“This is not just about the name of mega-cap technology. There are other semiconductor companies, data center companies and software companies that are benefiting from the rise of this theme,” he said.
Jacobs cited BlackRock’s iShares Future AI & Tech ETF (ARTY) and iShares AI Innovation & Tech Active ETF (BAI) as ways to potentially benefit from the rise of AI. The iShares Future AI & Tech ETF is up about 13% year-to-date, while the iShares AI Innovation & Tech Active ETF is up about 13% since its inception on Oct. 21 as of Friday’s close.
