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☆ BlackRock is jumping into one of the hottest sectors on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter. In today's big story, we're looking at a Wall Street giant jumping into one of the hottest sectors in finance. Similarly, a Google Brain cofounder said Big Tech companies are lying about AI risks to shut down competition. It's the latest example of how Big Tech can wreak havoc on smaller players overnight. The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City.

Persons: —, Julia Nikhinson, Arantza Pena Popo, BlackRock, Larry Fink, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino, Rebecca, It's, Blackstone, BlackRock's Larry Fink, Spencer Platt, Aaron Schwartz, that's, Charlie Munger isn't, Warren Buffett's, it's, Tyler Le, Ksenia Yudina, Gen Z's, Gen, Vegas Wendy Lee, Wendy Lee, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Street, KKR, Getty, Greenwich Economic, Xinhua, Federal Reserve, Big Tech, Market, Sin City Locations: Greenwich, Vegas, Las Vegas, Sin, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ The CEO of Airbnb says Barack Obama gave him one piece of advice about love and friendship after a breakup
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Brian Chesky says Barack Obama gave him some post-breakup advice, saying he didn't need another relationship. AdvertisementAdvertisementAirbnb CEO Brian Chesky says he received a piece of advice about love and friendship from the former president after a breakup in 2021. Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast on Monday, Chesky recounted how he sought advice from Obama in 2021. The two have known each other since at least 2015, when Obama named Chesky a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. Chesky and Obama did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Brian Chesky, Barack Obama, Chesky, —, Obama, podcaster Steven Bartlett, Airbnb, isn't, Vivek Murthy, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino Organizations: Service, Global Entrepreneurship, Obama, Bloomberg, Obama Foundation, Public Service, Psychological Locations: Cuba

☆ The billionaires' beef at Two Sigma seems pretty petty
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ICYMI: This is the last week of 10 Things on Wall Street. Insider's Rebecca Ungarino has more details on how long the beef between Overdeck and Siegel has been brewing behind the scenes. What stands out to me about the drama at Two Sigma is how it all seems to be so petty. The Two Sigma cofounder was included only as an example of the type of managers Haider had eclipsed. The asset manager tapped two internal executives to serve as co-CEOs of the firm, succeeding CEO Jay Wintrob, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Persons: Dan DeFrancesco, I'm, Billy Joel's, —, we've, Goldman, Cofounders David Siegel, John Overdeck, David Siegel, cofounders, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino, Siegel, Rebecca, Haidar Capital's Said Haidar, Haider, Penny, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Scott Olson, Ruobing Su, Michael Broadbery, Goldman Sachs, Maza, Andreessen Horowitz, Seth Klarman, Jay Wintrob, Robert O'Leary, Armen Panossian, Everybody's, they're, Joey Hadden, Jeffrey Cane, Hallam Bullock Organizations: Sigma, Baupost, Oaktree Capital, Street, Wall, LinkedIn Locations: Omaha, New York, London

☆ Depending on who you ask, BlackRock just saved, or killed, crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today we've got stories on a startup helping you build your credit with rent payments, Wall Street reentering the home-buying frenzy, and how to cut out late-night snacking. But that hasn't stopped critics from painting BlackRock's filing as part of a wider power shift in crypto benefiting traditional financial firms. (It's worth noting that the announcement coincides with the launch of EDX Markets, a crypto exchange backed by Wall Street royalty like Citadel Securities, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab, per The Wall Street Journal.) Wall Street isn't in the business of supporting causes that could put it out of business. By partnering with traditional finance firms, crypto companies are letting the fox in the hen house.

Persons: Dan DeFrancesco, we've, Andrii Shyp, Arif Qazi, Wall, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino, Rebecca, Morgan Chittum, hasn't, Charles Schwab, I've, Read, Teresa Heitsenrether, Here's, We're, Netflix's, Jeffrey Epstein, Epstein, Bel, Gary Winnick, Kaja Whitehouse, Nathan Rennolds Organizations: EDX, Wall, Citadel Securities, Fidelity, Street, JPMorgan, Bloomberg, Netflix, US Virgin Islands, Bel, Air, LinkedIn Locations: BlackRock, New York, London

☆ What's next for BlackRock?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The biggest, and most obvious, change comes at the top, as BlackRock considers life without Larry Fink. The departure of Fink from BlackRock — a firm he's led since founding it with Robert Kapito in 1988 — is monumental in and of itself. But consider the state of affairs:Simply put, there's a lot going on these days at BlackRock. Insider's Rebecca Ungarino, our resident BlackRock expert, has a rundown of all the latest news at the massive money manager. More on everything that's happening at BlackRock as its CEO and cofounder considers his future.

Persons: Dan DeFrancesco, we've, Leonardo Munoz, don't, Larry Fink, Fink, Robert Kapito, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino, Todd Anderson, Christine McCarthy, Bob Iger, Iger, Gen, Jeffrey Cane, Hallam Bullock Organizations: Disney, Netflix, BlackRock, Getty, Barclays, Goldman, Mouse, Apple's, McKinsey, LinkedIn Locations: VIEWpress, BlackRock —, BlackRock, Hulu, London, New York

☆ Banking giant JPMorgan advertised more than 3,600 AI-related jobs, report says, as Wall Street starts to embrace the revolutionary tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Data from Evident shows it advertised 3,651 AI-related jobs in three months. JPMorgan is leading the way in Wall Street's shift towards AI, according to data reported by Bloomberg. The bank advertised 3,651 jobs globally from February through April with roles related to AI, per Bloomberg. JPMorgan's job adverts are nearly double that of its closest competitor, Citigroup, which advertised around 2,100 AI-related roles across the same time period, Bloomberg reported. Only Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas also advertised more than 1,000 AI-related jobs, according to the report.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Larry Fink, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino Organizations: JPMorgan, Bloomberg, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, BNP, CNBC, Wednesday, BlackRock

☆ What life after Larry looks like at BlackRock
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Spencer Platt/Getty Images1. Who's next at BlackRock? On Wall Street, you'd be tough to find a founder and their company more synonymous with each other than Larry Fink and BlackRock. And while it's clear he doesn't want to remain at BlackRock forever, what's not clear is who would step in to fill the void. If that isn't enough for you, Rebecca also mapped out how BlackRock organizes its top leadership, identifying the 150 most powerful people and their reporting lines. Click here to learn more about BlackRock's succession plans for Larry Fink.

☆ Is Jamie Dimon the most powerful person in finance?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Insider's Carter Johnson has a story on one executive whose profile continues to rise: Jamie Dimon. Carter's story got me thinking: Who's the most powerful person in finance? Warren Buffett: Before you jump down my throat, realize this is a list of the most powerful people in finance not on Wall Street. Place your vote here — or name someone else — for who you think is the most powerful person in finance. The bank was hit with a nearly $100 million fine for letting a foreign bank make prohibited transactions, The Wall Street Journal reports.

☆ Wall Street wants to lend to Hollywood, and that could be bad news for the rest of us
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today, we've got stories on an upheaval within BlackRock's communications department, a debate over the merits of the man bun on Wall Street, and why I'm not intimidated by Gen Z anymore. Insider's Rebecca Ungarino and Reed Alexander have a story on private lenders looking to make investments in media and entertainment. Hollywood has long represented an interesting investment opportunity for Wall Street, but lending to the industry is an interesting twist. As Reed pointed out in a follow-up story, Wall Street is keen to apply artificial-intelligence tools to identify projects worth greenlighting. And here's more on why Wall Street is so high on the entertainment industry leveraging AI.

☆ Larry Fink's annual letter to BlackRock investors was about getting back to basics
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink GettyImages / Eugene Gologursky1. If you're looking for controversy in Larry Fink's annual open letter to investors, better luck next year. Despite this year's letter clocking in at roughly 9,000 words — have you thought about getting an editor, Larry? — Fink largely avoided discussing a favorite, albeit controversial, topic of his: ESG investing. Click here to read more about Larry Fink's latest annual letter that largely avoided hot political topics.

☆ What we lend in the shadows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"What We Do in the Shadows." New companies, especially ones that don't make any money are "pre-revenue," as VCs like to say, aren't easy to lend to. — there are also risks to letting investment firms lend billions of dollars without much oversight. Private-credit firms are looking to fill the lending gap left by Silicon Valley Bank's downfall. Inside Silicon Valley Bank's $70 billion loan portfolio that's now up for grabs.

☆ The behind-the-scenes role that's minting future stars at BlackRock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some of the most powerful people on Wall Street are men and women you've never heard of. Click here to learn more about BlackRock's new chief of staff and why the role is rising in importance across Wall Street. Everybody wants macro traders. A fintech helping companies engage with their retail investors got backing from Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six. These are the top 10 holdings in the church's investment portfolio, including one Wall Street titan.

☆ Harvey Schwartz has his work cut out for him at Carlyle. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But first, a Wall Street firm finally finds its CEO. Harvey Schwartz Goldman Sachs1. In many ways, Carlyle and Harvey Schwartz are perfectly imperfect for each other. Might as well call it "Carefree Carlyle," because that's the vibes I'm getting under the soon-to-be Schwartz era. Click here to read more about what'll be expected of Harvey Schwartz as CEO of Carlyle.

☆ Blackstone is predicting steady growth for its real-estate business, which could be bad news for its tenants
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Now imagine if your landlord wasn't just some mom-and-pop family that owned your building, but the world's largest private-equity firm. And while it's received a fair share of scrutiny over it, the performance of one of its real-estate funds has reignited criticism. But the Blackstone executives' comments indicated the firm could also be planning to raise rent and evict tenants, which includes those in affordable housing and student housing. Click here to read more about how Blackstone's real-estate strategy is setting the stage for an ugly battle with tenants. Top executives at Davos share their thoughts on how bad things might get in 2023.

☆ These 20 execs are powering the $1.2 trillion private-credit market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

So who's behind this mysterious market that has now swelled to $1.2 trillion and accounts for more than 20% of the aggregate capital leverage companies borrowed? Insider's Rebecca Ungarino mapped out 20 of the most powerful people in the space from firms like Sixth Street, Golub Capital, Ares, and Blackstone. When PE firms start hunting for deals, these are the tech companies they'll target. Some tech companies are instructing managers to label low performers on their teams, potentially signally more cuts at some point in 2023. Turns out, having one room dedicated to booze isn't enough for the ultra-wealthy, The Wall Street Journal reports.

☆ PE wants to see some cash flow before it starts making deals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As the markets continue to sour, and a recession looms, everyone's wondering when PE firms will begin scooping up assets. High on Bae's wishlist are "all things digital," he said, with one giant caveat: profitability. There are plenty of companies doing fascinating things in the digital space, but many have yet to reach profitability (*cough* fintechs *cough*). Goldman Sachs is going dumpster diving for crypto companies. Chaos in the crypto markets is creating investing and acquisition opportunities for the bank, according to Matthew McDermott, Goldman's head of digital assets.

☆ Blackstone's grand ambitions for attracting retail money faces a hiccup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's also a key part of the firm's push to attract retail investors, Insider's Rebecca Ungarino reports. Bloomberg previously reported that both firm CEO Steve Schwarzman and President Jon Gray have each put $100 million of their own money into BREIT since July. But as nice as it is to have the bosses' money backing your fund, that's not the target audience. And while there is a lot of upside to attracting retail investors — its private wealth arm has quadrupled in size to $233 billion in assets in four years — there are risks, too. Click here to read more about the recent headwinds facing Blackstone's big bet to attract retail money.

☆ FTX's blowup is a turning point for Wall Street's crypto adoption journey
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But first, where does Wall Street go from here? A warning sign for Wall Street to get out now before it's in too deep. Insider's Rebecca Ungarino and Danielle Walker examined what the knock-on effects of FTX's blowup mean for Wall Street's crypto plans. A key part of Wall Street's adoption of crypto was working with intermediaries bridging the gap between the two worlds. Read more on how FTX's blow up might impact Wall Street' long-term crypto plans.

☆ Inside BlackRock's long journey toward crypto adoption
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

BlackRock's crypto quest. The culmination, and perhaps biggest step, in BlackRock's crypto journey came this summer, when it announced a partnership with Coinbase. Insider's Rebecca Ungarino and Morgan Chittum mapped out Blackrock's long journey toward crypto acceptance, which essentially dates back to an initial memo in 2015. Which is why mapping out BlackRock's journey is so interesting, Rebecca told me. Industry insiders detail a difficult week for the tech industry that saw thousands lose their jobs.

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