BlackRock is seeing a shift among Big Tech investors.
Jay Jacobs, the firm’s U.S. head of equity ETFs, finds they’re going for targeted themes like artificial intelligence.
“One of the biggest trades we’re seeing this year is simply people leaving the traditional tech sector and getting more granular into AI-specific ETFs, like BAI [the iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF] from BlackRock,” Jacobs told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week.
The fund gives investors exposure from semiconductor manufacturers to large language models in the AI ecosystem, according to Jacobs.
BlackRock’s iShares website listed Nvidia, Broadcom, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft as BAI’s top holdings as of this week.
Factset calculates that electronic technology and technology services stocks make up more than 85% of its holdings. On Friday, the ETF tumbled roughly 5% along with the tech-heavy Nasdaq. However, BAI is up 36% since its inception last Oct. 21.
‘People want to play this potentially very disruptive theme’
Jacobs is also bullish on blockchain-related stocks, noting strong enthusiasm around ethereum has fueled significant investor interest.
He contends BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA), a passively managed fund that tracks the ether’s spot price, has been a beneficiary of the trend. It’s up almost 42% over the past 12 weeks based on Friday’s close.
“Ethereum is really a bet on blockchain technology and other ways to use it through things like stablecoins and tokenization,” said Jacobs. “People want to play this potentially very disruptive theme.”
The Amplify ETFs founder and CEO sees opportunity in the cryptocurrency space, too. The firm offers blockchain exposure through the Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK). It’s an actively managed fund that invests in companies directly involved in developing or deploying blockchain infrastructure, according to the Amplify ETF website.
“There are a variety of use cases around blockchain, whether that’s stablecoins for payments… or its tokenization of assets, which can happen with real estate or stocks,” Christian Magoon said in the same interview. “We think this is a major theme that’s going to impact not only technology but also fintech and, of course, the crypto community.”
Magoon also pointed to new regulations as a tailwind for the industry. In July, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation into law, which could boost investor confidence in stablecoins.
“We’re a pioneer in that space, and we think the upside is gonna continue, especially given the current administration and some of the regulatory moves we’re seeing from exchanges as well as large capital market participants,” he added.
BLOK fell more than 5% on Friday, but it’s still up almost 89% for over the past year.