Today we are publishing my annual Chairman’s Letter to investors. In this year’s letter, I focus on important long-term issues and the role I believe the capital markets can play, both in helping to address these challenges and contributing to a more prosperous future.

I started writing these letters over a decade ago to start a conversation about long-termism. The topics have changed over the years, but all are rooted in maximizing returns for our clients and shareholders through a relentless focus on the long term. There is no long-term issue more core to BlackRock’s purpose than helping to solve the retirement crisis.

Rethinking retirement for longer lives

As a society, we focus a tremendous amount on helping people live longer and healthier lives but spend just a fraction of that effort on helping them afford those extra years. Most people need help navigating investing for long-term goals like retirement. And even when people have saved for retirement, they still often don’t know how to spend for it.

BlackRock was founded to help people invest in the capital markets, and for so many people the ability to access the capital markets to invest has been the difference between an anxious retirement and a comfortable one. That’s why BlackRock is entrusted to manage more assets on behalf of people saving for retirement than any other firm in the world.

The solutions to the retirement crisis are going to have to come from a wide range of experts, and BlackRock hopes to be a convener for these discussions and contribute insights based on our experience managing retirement assets in the U.S. and around the world.

Funding critical infrastructure

The capital markets will also be key to addressing another big economic challenge: funding critical infrastructure.

As countries try to decarbonize and digitize their economies, they’re supercharging demand for all sorts of infrastructure, from telecom networks to – most of all – new ways to generate power.

The demand for new infrastructure dollars is far outpacing the public supply, as record levels of government debt are leaving fewer public dollars for crucial public projects. We see an unprecedented opportunity for private capital to help fill this funding gap.

 In my nearly 50 years in finance, I’ve never seen more demand for energy infrastructure, and the capital markets can help countries meet their energy goals, including decarbonization and energy security, in a fair, affordable way.

As the capital markets transform how we build infrastructure that powers homes and transports people and goods around the world, we’re going to see a golden age for private investment in infrastructure in the years ahead.

Hope for the future

I believe that the only way to solve big, long-term problems is through engagement and dialogue, even if those conversations are often difficult. Meeting these challenges will require leaders across government and business in countries around the world to find ways to help restore hope for the future, particularly among younger generations.

When more people invest in the capital markets, it fuels economic growth for companies and countries, which, in turn, generates wealth for whole societies. I believe the power of capital markets to generate prosperity will remain a dominant economic trend for decades to come.

I hope you will take the time to read the letter as we begin a conversation about these important issues.

Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO