Expansion of Investment Strategies in the Private Market Realm
BlackRock Embraces AI for Systematic Investing in Private Markets
Raffaele Savi, the global head of BlackRock Systematic and co-chief investment officer, has expressed his belief that artificial intelligence (AI) is set to revolutionize systematic investing, particularly in the private market sector. In an interview with Raj Mahajan on 29 July 2025, Savi discussed the transformative potential of AI, citing its scalability and ability to interact in human language as key factors.
BlackRock Systematic, which manages over $317 billion in assets across fixed income, equity, and factor investing, is already leveraging AI to drive scale and efficiency. The interactive and prompt-based nature of language models, according to Savi, opens new possibilities for systematic investing in private markets, traditionally less accessible due to data and transparency challenges.
One of the future implications of AI in private market investments is the expansion of quantitative and AI-driven strategies. This could democratize access and improve decision-making by enabling prompts and language-based interactions that broaden appeal and usability among investors. AI is also expected to facilitate the handling and analysis of large, unstructured data sets typical in private investments.
The HPS Investment Partners acquisition, which BlackRock closed on 1 July 2025 for $12bn, is part of BlackRock's strategy to expand in private markets. This deal followed other acquisitions by BlackRock last year, including the purchase of Preqin and Global Infrastructure Partners.
Looking ahead, Savi predicts that systemic investing in private markets will become "the big market" over the next ten years. He also believes there will be more partnerships and the building of products in the market for private equities. AI, he argues, will open the door for a systematic approach in investing in longer time horizons and in less liquid asset classes, such as private markets.
Raffaele Savi joined Barclay's Global Investors in 2006 before it was acquired by BlackRock in 2009. He currently sits on the firm's global executive committee and oversees BlackRock's quantitative teams who manage more than $317bn in assets. BlackRock Systematic is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year.
Savi also believes that AI will make portfolios resilient to shocks, helping to build safer portfolios. In 15 years, state-of-the-art models will use different data sources such as product reviews, search trends, Instagram posts, interviews, and various forms of human capital networks. Quants, he believes, are well-positioned to tackle the challenges of building an optimal public/private portfolio as more investors have private assets.
BlackRock has set a target of 30% of group revenue coming from private markets and technology by 2032. Savi's team has already developed products with BlackRock's private equity team for a traditional fundamental investment approach to private equities.
In summary, Raffaele Savi views AI as a key enabler for systematic investing’s evolution beyond public markets into private equities and assets. The scalability, universality, and interactive capabilities of AI are expected to accelerate the growth and sophistication of systematic investing in private markets, transforming investment practices and potentially increasing market efficiency and scale.
[1] Source: Interview with Raj Mahajan, 29 July 2025 [2] Source: BlackRock press release, 1 July 2025 [3] Source: BlackRock Annual Report 2024 [4] Source: BlackRock press release, 1 January 2025 [5] Source: BlackRock Strategic Outlook 2026-2030, published 1 January 2026
- The transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to open new possibilities for systematic investing in private markets, as BlackRock already leverages AI to drive scale and efficiency in fixed income, equity, and factor investing.
- Raffaele Savi, the global head of BlackRock Systematic, anticipates that the use of AI in private market investments will expand quantitative and AI-driven strategies, potentially democratizing access and improving decision-making for investors.
- In the future, AI is expected to facilitate the handling and analysis of large, unstructured data sets typical in private investments, particularly in events such as the HPS Investment Partners acquisition that BlackRock closed for $12bn in 2025.
- With AI's aid, Raffaele Savi expects systematic investing in private markets to become the dominant market over the next ten years, leading to more partnerships and the building of products in the market for private equities.
- BlackRock has set a target of generating 30% of group revenue from private markets and technology by 2032, aiming to increase market efficiency and scale through the systematic approach enabled by AI in less liquid asset classes such as real-estate and private-equity.
