Larry Fink: The 5 Golden Rules Every Investor Must Know

You know, I've been in this business for almost 50 years now. I started on Wall Street in 1976, wearing the world's ugliest brown suit and sporting long hair and turquoise

jewelry. I looked ridiculous, but I was

jewelry. I looked ridiculous, but I was hungry. I was curious. And I was

hungry. I was curious. And I was determined to understand how money really works. Today, I run BlackRock,

really works. Today, I run BlackRock, the largest asset management firm in the world. We manage over 11 trillion.

world. We manage over 11 trillion.

That's more money than most countries have as their entire GDP. And every day I talk to some of the smartest investors on the planet. Pension fund managers,

sovereign wealth funds, family offices, individual savers trying to build a better future. And you know what I've

better future. And you know what I've learned over these five decades? the

principles that separate successful investors from unsuccessful ones.

They're not complicated. They're not

secret formulas that only the wealthy know. They're simple, timeless rules

know. They're simple, timeless rules that anyone can apply, but most people don't apply them. They get caught up in

the noise. They chase the latest trend.

the noise. They chase the latest trend.

They panic when markets fall. They get

greedy when markets rise. and they lose money or worse they make a little money but miss out on the real wealth that could have been theirs if they just

followed some basic principles. That's

what I want to talk to you about today.

The five golden rules that have guided my entire career. Rules that have helped Black Rockck's clients build trillions of dollars in wealth. Rules that I've

seen work in every market environment, in every geography, in every asset class. These aren't theories. These

class. These aren't theories. These

aren't academic concepts. These are

battle tested principles that have survived the crash of 1,987, the dotcom bubble, 9 over1, the 2008 financial crisis, the European debt

crisis, and the pandemic. They work

because they're rooted in something deeper than market tactics. They're

rooted in human nature and the fundamental realities of how capital markets function. All right, let's start

markets function. All right, let's start with um what I consider the most important rule of all. Think in decades nowadays, long-term thinking. It sounds

obvious. It sounds simple, but I promise you this is the rule that most investors violate most often. Let me tell you what I mean. In 2025,

I mean. In 2025, I wrote my annual letter to investors and I started by acknowledging something

I hear from everyone. Clients, CEOs,

world leaders, they're anxious, more anxious about the economy than any time in recent memory. And I understand why. There's always something to worry

why. There's always something to worry about. interest rates, inflation,

about. interest rates, inflation, geopolitics, elections, deficits, the list never ends. But here's what I told them. We

ends. But here's what I told them. We

have lived through moments like this before. And somehow in the long run, we

before. And somehow in the long run, we figure things out. Humans are smart, resilient creatures. We build systems

resilient creatures. We build systems that take the confusion around us and produce surprisingly good outcomes. And

nowhere is this more true than in capital markets. The first stock

capital markets. The first stock exchange opened in Amsterdam in6002, 423 years ago. And you know who the

investors were? Yes, wealthy merchants,

investors were? Yes, wealthy merchants, but also ordinary people, artisans, shopkeepers,

silk weavers, soap makers, even maids who invested 50 gilders, about enough to rent a modest cottage for a year. And

over those four centuries, despite wars, famines, pandemics, financial crises, depressions, and every imaginable disaster, the capital markets have been the single greatest wealthb buildinging

machine in human history. Let me give you some numbers. If you'd invested in the US stock market in 1926 and held through 2023

through the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, Vietnam, stagflation, multiple recessions, the.com crash, the

financial crisis, and the pandemic, your money would have grown at about 10% annually. Every dollar would have become

annually. Every dollar would have become over $10,000.

10,000 times your money. That's the

power of long-term thinking. But here's

what most people do. They look at their portfolio every day, every week, every month. And when they see it go down,

month. And when they see it go down, they panic. They sell. They move to

they panic. They sell. They move to cash. They wait for things to calm down.

cash. They wait for things to calm down.

And by the time things calm down, the market has already recovered.

They miss the upside. They lock in their losses. I've seen this happen over and

losses. I've seen this happen over and over again. 2008, the financial crisis,

over again. 2008, the financial crisis, markets fell 50%, people panicked and sold, and then

markets recovered. By 2013, just 5 years

markets recovered. By 2013, just 5 years later, the S&P 500 had fully recovered and was making new all-time highs. The

people who sold in 2008 and 2009, most of them never got back in. They

missed the entire recovery. Same thing

in 2020. The pandemic hits, markets fall 34% in five weeks, people panic, they

sell, and then by August, just 5 months later, markets were back to all-time highs. The people who sold in March,

highs. The people who sold in March, they missed it. This is why long-term thinking matters. When you think in

thinking matters. When you think in decades, not days, short-term volatility becomes noise. It becomes irrelevant.

becomes noise. It becomes irrelevant.

You understand that markets will go up and down. That's what they do. But the

and down. That's what they do. But the

long-term trajectory is up. Always has

been, always will be. Now, let me be practical about this. How do you actually implement long-term thinking?

Three ways. First, don't look at your portfolio every day. I'm serious.

Studies show that the more frequently people check their portfolios, the worse their returns. Because every time you

their returns. Because every time you look and see red numbers, you feel pain.

And that pain makes you want to act to do something. And usually that something

do something. And usually that something is the wrong thing. So limit yourself.

Check your portfolio quarterly, maybe monthly if you must, but not daily, not weekly. Give yourself psychological

weekly. Give yourself psychological distance from the shortterm noise.

Second, have a plan and stick to it.

Know what you own and why you own it. If

you bought a stock because you believed in the company's long-term prospects, don't sell just because the stock is down 20%. Unless the fundamental thesis

down 20%. Unless the fundamental thesis has changed, unless the reason you bought it is no longer valid, hold on.

Be patient. Let your thesis play out.

Third, automate your investing. Dollar

cost averaging. Set up automatic investments every month, same amount, same day. Doesn't matter if the market's

same day. Doesn't matter if the market's up or down. You're buying consistently over time. This removes emotion from the

over time. This removes emotion from the equation. It forces long-term thinking.

equation. It forces long-term thinking.

And here's something I tell young people all the time. If you're in your 20s, 30s, 40s, you have decades ahead of you.

Decades. You don't need to worry about what the market does this year or next year. You're investing for 30, 40, 50

year. You're investing for 30, 40, 50 years from now. Time is your greatest asset. Compound interest is your secret

asset. Compound interest is your secret weapon, but only if you think long term.

I spend an hour every single day studying markets in the world. I've been

doing this for almost 50 years, and I still do it because I'm still a student.

I'm still learning. But you know what I've learned more than anything else?

That short-term predictions are worthless. Nobody knows what the market

worthless. Nobody knows what the market will do tomorrow or next month or next year. Nobody. But over 10 years, over 20

year. Nobody. But over 10 years, over 20 years, over 30 years, we have a pretty good idea. The economy will grow,

good idea. The economy will grow, innovation will continue, companies will create value, and markets will reflect that. That's why I think in decades, not

that. That's why I think in decades, not days. And that's the first golden rule.

days. And that's the first golden rule.

All right, let's talk about the second golden rule. Ownership is everything.

golden rule. Ownership is everything.

And I mean this in the deepest, most fundamental sense. Ownership is what

fundamental sense. Ownership is what creates wealth. Ownership is what gives

creates wealth. Ownership is what gives you a stake in growth. Ownership is what separates people who build generational wealth from people who stay stuck in

place. Let me explain what I mean. In my

place. Let me explain what I mean. In my

2025 letter, I talked about something that really concerns me. We have twin inverted economies in most developed countries. One where wealth builds on

countries. One where wealth builds on wealth, another where hardship builds on hardship. The divide has reshaped our

hardship. The divide has reshaped our politics, our policies, even our sense of what's possible. And what's the difference between these two economies?

Ownership. The people in the wealthbuilding economy own assets. They

own stocks. They own real estate. They

own businesses. They own pieces of the infrastructure that powers modern civilization. And as those assets grow

civilization. And as those assets grow in value, their wealth grows. The people

in the other economy, they don't own anything. They rent. They work for

anything. They rent. They work for wages. They keep their money in savings

wages. They keep their money in savings accounts that barely pay interest. They

don't participate in growth. They just

watch it happen for other people. And

this is tragic because capital markets exist specifically to democratize ownership. That's their whole purpose.

ownership. That's their whole purpose.

When the Amsterdam Stock Exchange opened in6002, for the first time in history, ordinary people could own pieces of the Dutch

East India Company. Maids and artisans could own the same assets as wealthy merchants. That was revolutionary. And

merchants. That was revolutionary. And

today about 60% of American families have money in the stock market. That's

good. That's progress. But 40% don't.

They have nothing invested. They're

completely left out of wealth creation.

And even among the 60% who do invest, most don't own enough. They have a tiny 401k with a couple thousand dollars in it. That's not enough to build real

it. That's not enough to build real wealth. That's not enough to retire on.

wealth. That's not enough to retire on.

That's not enough to create financial security. So here's what I want you to

security. So here's what I want you to understand. If you want to build wealth,

understand. If you want to build wealth, you must own assets. Not cash,

not savings accounts, not certificates of deposit. Assets, things that grow in

of deposit. Assets, things that grow in value over time, things that produce income, things that participate in economic growth. And the most accessible

economic growth. And the most accessible form of ownership for most people is stocks. When you own a stock, you own a

stocks. When you own a stock, you own a piece of a business. You're a part owner. And if that business grows, if it

owner. And if that business grows, if it becomes more profitable, if it dominates its industry, your ownership stake becomes more valuable. Think about it

this way. If you'd bought $100,000 worth

this way. If you'd bought $100,000 worth of Amazon stock 20 years ago, today it would be worth millions. Millions.

Because you owned a piece of Amazon during its explosive growth phase. you

participated in that value creation or Apple or Microsoft or Google or Netflix, the list goes on. The people who owned

pieces of these companies during their growth phases built enormous wealth not by working harder, not by earning higher

salaries, by owning. Now, I'm not saying you need to pick individual stocks. Most

people shouldn't. It's too risky, too hard. Instead, own broad index funds.

hard. Instead, own broad index funds.

Own the entire market. Own thousands of companies through a single investment.

When you do that, you own a piece of the entire economy. And as the economy

entire economy. And as the economy grows, your wealth grows. At Black

Rockck, we've been champions of index investing for decades. We launched

Eyesshares, the largest ETF platform in the world. Why? Because we believe

the world. Why? Because we believe everyone should have access to lowcost diversified ownership of the market. You

don't need to be wealthy. You don't need to be sophisticated.

You can start with as little as a $100 and own a piece of 500 companies. But

here's what's changing, and this is really important. The future of wealth

really important. The future of wealth creation isn't just in public stocks.

It's increasingly in private assets, private infrastructure, private credit, private equity, private real estate. These are the assets that

real estate. These are the assets that institutions have been investing in for decades. Pension funds have 20 to 30% of

decades. Pension funds have 20 to 30% of their portfolios in private assets. And

guess what? They outperform 401ks by about half a percent per year. Half a

percent doesn't sound like much, but over 30 years, it's the difference between a comfortable retirement and a struggling retirement. It's the

struggling retirement. It's the difference between leaving something for your kids and running out of money. So,

we're working to democratize access to private markets. We acquired global

private markets. We acquired global infrastructure partners for 12.5 billion. We acquired HPS,

billion. We acquired HPS, a private credit manager, for 12 billion.

We're building products that will allow everyday investors to own pieces of data centers, power grids, ports, airports,

private companies, the same assets that the ultra wealthy and institutions own because ownership should not be exclusive.

It should not be limited to the top 1% or the top 10%. It should be available to everyone. That's economic democracy.

to everyone. That's economic democracy.

That's what I'm fighting for. So here's

my challenge to you. Look at your financial situation. How much of what

financial situation. How much of what you have is actually ownership? How much

is in assets that grow? How much

participates in the economy? And if the answer is not much or nothing, change that. Start

owning. Start small if you need to, but start. Because I promise you, 20 years

start. Because I promise you, 20 years from now, 30 years from now, the people who owned assets will be wealthy and the people who didn't will be struggling.

That's not a prediction. That's a

guarantee based on 400 years of capital market history. Ownership is everything.

market history. Ownership is everything.

That's the second golden rule. All

right. Golden rule number three.

Diversification is protection. And I

want to be very clear about what I mean by diversification because this word gets thrown around a lot and people don't always understand it properly.

Diversification doesn't mean owning a bunch of random stuff. It doesn't mean having 50 different stocks you picked based on tips from friends or the internet. Real diversification is

internet. Real diversification is strategic. It's intentional. It's about

strategic. It's intentional. It's about

structuring your portfolio so that when one part is struggling, another part is doing well. Let me explain why this

doing well. Let me explain why this matters. For generations, investors

matters. For generations, investors followed what we call the 60 over 40 portfolio. 60% stocks, 40% bonds. This

portfolio. 60% stocks, 40% bonds. This

was the standard. This was the gospel.

And for a long time, it worked beautifully. When stocks went down,

beautifully. When stocks went down, bonds usually went up or at least stayed stable. The two asset classes were

stable. The two asset classes were negatively correlated. They balanced

negatively correlated. They balanced each other out. But the world has changed.

In 2022, both stocks and bonds fell at the same time. That wasn't supposed to happen,

time. That wasn't supposed to happen, but it did. Why? Because inflation

surged and rising interest rates hurt both asset classes simultaneously. The

60 over 40 portfolio failed to provide the protection it was supposed to provide. So, in my 2025 letter, I

provide. So, in my 2025 letter, I propose something different. I call it the 503020

portfolio. 50% stocks, 30% bonds, and

portfolio. 50% stocks, 30% bonds, and 20% private assets, real estate, infrastructure, private credit, private equity. Why this structure? Because

equity. Why this structure? Because

private assets have low correlation to public markets. When the stock market

public markets. When the stock market crashes, private infrastructure doesn't necessarily crash with it. Power grids

still generate revenue. Toll roads still collect tolls. Data centers still get

collect tolls. Data centers still get leased. These assets provide stability

leased. These assets provide stability and income that's independent of public market volatility.

And this is true diversification. You're

not putting all your eggs in one basket.

You're spreading risk across asset classes that behave differently, that respond to different forces, that protect you in different scenarios. Now

let me give you a framework for thinking about diversification.

I call it diversification across five dimensions. First, asset classes.

dimensions. First, asset classes.

Stocks, bonds, real estate, infrastructure commodities private credit. Different asset classes have

credit. Different asset classes have different risk return profiles, different sensitivities to economic conditions. By owning multiple asset

conditions. By owning multiple asset classes, you smooth out your overall portfolio returns.

Second, geography. Don't just own US assets, own international assets.

Europe, Asia, emerging markets. The US

economy is strong, but it's not the only economy. By diversifying globally, you

economy. By diversifying globally, you participate in growth wherever it happens. And you protect yourself if one

happens. And you protect yourself if one region struggles. Third sectors

region struggles. Third sectors within stocks own different industries technology, health care, financials,

consumer goods, energy, utilities.

Different sectors perform well at different times in the economic cycle.

Tech might boom during expansions.

Utilities might hold up during recessions. By owning all of them,

recessions. By owning all of them, you're positioned for whatever happens.

Fourth, time horizons.

Have some investments that are short-term and liquid. Cash, money

market funds, short-term bonds. These

are for emergencies and near-term needs, but also have long-term investments, stocks, private equity, infrastructure.

These are for building wealth over decades. The combination gives you

decades. The combination gives you flexibility and growth. Fifth, active

and passive. I'm a big believer in lowcost index funds for most of your portfolio, but there are areas where active management can add value,

emerging markets, small caps, private assets. In these less efficient markets,

assets. In these less efficient markets, skilled managers can outperform. So, a

mix of passive core holdings and selective active strategies makes sense.

This is comprehensive diversification, and it's not complicated. You don't need 100 holdings. You need a thoughtful

100 holdings. You need a thoughtful structure. Maybe 10 to 15 well-chosen

structure. Maybe 10 to 15 well-chosen funds that cover all these dimensions.

Now, here's a mistake I see people make.

They think diversification means safety.

It doesn't. Diversification means

appropriate risk. A diversified

portfolio will still go down during bare markets. It will still be volatile, but

markets. It will still be volatile, but it will be less volatile than a concentrated portfolio. And critically,

concentrated portfolio. And critically, it will protect you from catastrophic loss. If you'd owned only tech stocks in

loss. If you'd owned only tech stocks in 2000, you would have lost 80% or more when the dotcom bubble burst. But if

you'd owned a diversified portfolio with tech value, stocks, bonds, international real estate, you would have been down much less, maybe 20 or 30%. Still

painful, but not catastrophic, and you would have recovered much faster. That's

what diversification does. It protects

you from your own mistakes because let's be honest, we all make mistakes. We all

think we know which sector will outperform or which stock will be the next Amazon. And sometimes we're right,

next Amazon. And sometimes we're right, but often we're wrong. Diversification

means that when we're wrong, it doesn't destroy us. So here's my advice. Build

destroy us. So here's my advice. Build

your core portfolio around broad diversification.

Then if you want to make some concentrated bets, if you have strong convictions about certain opportunities, fine.

Allocate five or 10% of your portfolio to those ideas, but keep 90 or 95% in a diversified structure. This way, you can

diversified structure. This way, you can take some risks, you can pursue some upside, but you're protected. Your

financial future doesn't depend on being right about everything. It depends on having a solid diversified foundation.

Diversification is protection. That's

the third golden rule. All right, let's talk about golden rule number four.

Costs matter more than you think. And I

know this doesn't sound exciting. Nobody

gets pumped up about expense ratios and management fees, but I'm telling you, this is one of the most important rules in all of investing. Let me show you why

with some math. Imagine you have $100,000 invested. You're paying a 1%

$100,000 invested. You're paying a 1% annual management fee. Over 30 years, assuming a 7% annual return, your

portfolio will grow to about $575,000.

Now, same scenario, but you're in a lowcost index fund that charges 0.05%.

Over 30 years, your portfolio will grow to about $740,000.

Did you catch that? The only difference was the fee. 1% versus 0.05%.

And the result was $740,000 versus $575,000.

That's $165,000 in extra wealth just from paying lower fees. $165,000.

fees. $165,000.

That could be a year or two of retirement income. That could be your

retirement income. That could be your kid's college fund. That could be the difference between financial security and financial stress. All because of

fees. And here's what's crazy. Most

fees. And here's what's crazy. Most

people have no idea what fees are paying. They don't read the fine print.

paying. They don't read the fine print.

They don't check the expense ratios.

They just assume their financial adviser or their 401k plan has them in reasonable investments. And often

reasonable investments. And often they're wrong. I've seen 401k plans with

they're wrong. I've seen 401k plans with expense ratios over 2%. 2%. That's

robbery. That's stealing from future retirees. And it's legal. It's disclosed

retirees. And it's legal. It's disclosed

in the paperwork, but nobody reads it.

Nobody pays attention. At Black Rockck, we've been on a mission for decades to drive down costs. When we launched Eyesshares ETFs, we were competing with mutual funds that

charge one, two, sometimes 3%. We came

in at 0.5% then 0.2% then 0.1%.

Now we have funds that charge 0.03%.

Three basis points. That's $3 per year on a $10,000 investment. That's almost

nothing. And that savings compounds over time into enormous wealth creation for our clients. Now let me address

our clients. Now let me address something. People say, "But Larry, what

something. People say, "But Larry, what about active management? What about

skilled managers who can beat the market? Isn't it worth paying higher

market? Isn't it worth paying higher fees for better returns? And my answer is sometimes.

In certain markets with certain managers, yes, there are areas where skill matters, emerging markets, small

caps, private credit. If you can find a truly skilled manager in these spaces, it might be worth paying a little more.

But here's the reality. The vast

majority of active managers don't beat their benchmarks after fees. Study after

study confirms this. Over 10 years, over 80% of active managers underperform their index. Over 20 years, it's over

their index. Over 20 years, it's over 90%. So, you're paying higher fees for

90%. So, you're paying higher fees for worse returns. That makes no sense.

worse returns. That makes no sense.

That's why I've always advocated for index funds as the core of most portfolios. low cost, broad

portfolios. low cost, broad diversification, market returns. Simple, effective. But

market returns. Simple, effective. But

it's not just management fees. It's also

trading costs. Every time you buy or sell a stock, you pay a commission. You

pay a spread. You potentially trigger taxes if you're selling it again. These

costs add up. I know people who trade constantly. They're always moving in and

constantly. They're always moving in and out of positions, chasing the hot stock, trying to time the market, and they think they're being smart. They think

they're being active, but they're actually destroying their returns through costs. There's a study that

through costs. There's a study that looked at retail investors who trade frequently. On average, they

frequently. On average, they underperform buy and hold investors by about 3% per year. 3%.

all because of trading costs and bad timing. So, here's my advice. Minimize

timing. So, here's my advice. Minimize

costs everywhere you can. Choose lowcost

index funds for your core holdings. Keep

trading to a minimum. Buy and hold. Be

patient. Let compounding do its work.

Don't let fees and costs eat away at your wealth. And check your 401k.

your wealth. And check your 401k.

Check your IRA. Look at the expense ratios on your funds. If you're paying more than 0.5% on a broad market index

fund, you're paying too much switch to something cheaper. It takes 10 minutes

something cheaper. It takes 10 minutes and it could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

Costs matter more than you think. That's

the fourth golden rule. All right, the fifth and final golden rule. Stay humble

and keep learning. And this is the rule that ties everything together. This is

the mindset that makes all the other rules work. Here's something I've said

rules work. Here's something I've said publicly many times. Even after running Black Rockck for almost 40 years, even after managing 11 trillion dollars, I

still spend an hour every single day studying the world and the markets. An

hour, sometimes an hour and a half. I'm

still a student. I am still learning today as much as I was learning almost 50 years ago when I started in this business. Why? Because the world

business. Why? Because the world changes. Markets evolve. New

changes. Markets evolve. New

technologies emerge. New risks appear.

New opportunities arise. If you think you've got it all figured out, if you think you know everything, you're going to get blindsided. You're going to miss

the next big shift. You're going to make costly mistakes. I've seen it happen to

costly mistakes. I've seen it happen to so many smart people, brilliant investors who had incredible track records, but they got arrogant. They

stopped learning. They assumed the future would look like the past, and they got crushed. Let me give you an example. In the 1,990

example. In the 1,990 seconds, there were investors who'd made fortunes in traditional industries, manufacturing retail telecommunications.

They understood those businesses inside and out. But when the internet came

and out. But when the internet came along, they dismissed it. They said it was a fad. They said the old business models would prevail. They were wrong.

And they lost billions because [sighs] they weren't humble enough to admit they didn't understand the new technology.

They weren't curious enough to learn about it. They just dismissed it. I've

about it. They just dismissed it. I've

tried very hard not to make that mistake. When I first heard about

mistake. When I first heard about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, I was skeptical, very skeptical. I said

publicly that it was primarily a vehicle for illegal activity for money laundering. But then I started learning

laundering. But then I started learning more. I started understanding the

more. I started understanding the underlying blockchain technology. I

started seeing how institutions were getting interested. And I changed my

getting interested. And I changed my mind. We launched the iShares Bitcoin

mind. We launched the iShares Bitcoin Trust, one of the first Bitcoin ETFs.

It's been hugely successful. Could I

have done that if I'd stayed stubborn?

If I'd refused to learn, no. I would

have missed a major investment opportunity. But because I stayed

opportunity. But because I stayed humble, because I admitted I didn't know everything, I was able to adapt. This is

critical. Humility and curiosity are superpowers in investing. They allow you to adapt, to evolve, to recognize when your assumptions are wrong, to course

correct before it's too late. Now, let

me tell you how to cultivate this mindset practically. First, read. Read a

mindset practically. First, read. Read a

lot. I read constantly. Market reports,

economic data, academic papers, books, articles. I'm trying to understand

articles. I'm trying to understand what's happening in the world. What

forces are shaping the future. You don't

need to spend hours a day, but spend some time, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. Make

it a habit. Second, listen to people who disagree with you. This is hard. Our

natural instinct is to surround ourselves with people who confirm our beliefs, but that's dangerous. That's

how you end up in an echo chamber.

Instead, seek out smart people who have different views. Understand their

different views. Understand their arguments. Maybe they're wrong, but

arguments. Maybe they're wrong, but maybe they see something you don't.

Third, admit when you're wrong. This is

the hardest part. Nobody likes being wrong, especially about money. But if

you can't admit mistakes, you can't learn from them, and you'll keep making the same mistakes over and over. I've

made plenty of mistakes in my career.

Investments that didn't work out, acquisitions that were harder than expected, strategies that needed adjustment, and I've tried to be honest about them to learn from them to get

better. Fourth, stay curious about new

better. Fourth, stay curious about new developments. We're living in an era of

developments. We're living in an era of incredible technological change, artificial intelligence, blockchain, biotechnology,

quantum computing. These technologies

quantum computing. These technologies are going to reshape the economy. If

you're not learning about them, if you're not trying to understand their implications, you're going to miss the opportunities they create. At Black

Rockck, we've invested heavily in AI and technology.

Not because it's trendy, but because we genuinely believe it's transformative. Our Aladdin system,

transformative. Our Aladdin system, which helps us manage risk across trillions of dollars, is one of the most sophisticated AI powered systems in finance. We built it because we were

finance. We built it because we were curious, because we were willing to learn and invest in new technology.

Fifth, acknowledge uncertainty. None of

us know what the future holds. We can

analyze, we can forecast, we can build scenarios, but we can't predict with certainty. Humility means accepting that

certainty. Humility means accepting that uncertainty. It means being prepared for

uncertainty. It means being prepared for multiple outcomes. It means staying

multiple outcomes. It means staying flexible. In my 2025 letter, I

flexible. In my 2025 letter, I acknowledged that people are anxious, leaders are anxious, the economy feels uncertain, and I could have pretended to

have all the answers. I could have made bold predictions, but I didn't because I don't know exactly what's going to happen. Nobody does. What I do know is

happen. Nobody does. What I do know is that capital markets have weathered every storm for 400 years. That

innovation continues, that humans solve problems, that long-term growth is the trend. But the specific path, the exact

trend. But the specific path, the exact timing, the precise winners and losers, that's unknowable.

And that's okay. You don't need to know everything. You just need to follow good

everything. You just need to follow good principles. You need to think long term.

principles. You need to think long term.

You need to own assets. You need to diversify.

You need to minimize costs. And you need to stay humble and keep learning. Those

five rules. That's what I've learned in five decades. That's what has guided me

five decades. That's what has guided me through every market environment. And

I'm confident these rules will continue to work for decades to come. Let me

bring all of this together for you.

These five golden rules, they're not just tactics. They're a philosophy, a

just tactics. They're a philosophy, a way of thinking about investing and wealth building that transcends any particular market or economic environment. The core of this philosophy

environment. The core of this philosophy is this. Investing is not about getting

is this. Investing is not about getting rich quick. It's not about beating the

rich quick. It's not about beating the market every year. It's not about finding the next hot stock or timing the next crash. It's about systematically

next crash. It's about systematically building wealth over time through disciplined application of sound principles. Think in decades, not days.

principles. Think in decades, not days.

This keeps you focused on what matters.

It prevents you from making emotional decisions based on shortterm noise. It

allows you to ride out volatility and capture the long-term upward trend of markets. Ownership is everything. This

markets. Ownership is everything. This

is how wealth is created, not through wages alone, through owning assets that grow in value, that produce income, that participate in economic expansion. The

more you own, the more you benefit from growth. Diversification is protection.

growth. Diversification is protection.

This is how you manage risk, how you prevent catastrophic loss, how you ensure that your financial future doesn't depend on being right about everything. A well- diversified

everything. A well- diversified portfolio gives you staying power. Costs

matter more than you think. This is how you preserve returns. Every dollar you pay in fees is a dollar that's not compounding for you. Over decades, those

dollars add up to enormous sums. Minimize costs ruthlessly. Stay humble

and keep learning. This is the mindset that makes everything else work. The

world changes. Markets evolve. New

opportunities arise. If you're not learning, if you're not adapting, you'll fall behind. But if you stay curious,

fall behind. But if you stay curious, stay humble, stay flexible, you'll thrive. These five rules have guided me

thrive. These five rules have guided me for almost 50 years. They've helped

Black Rockck's clients build trillions of dollars in wealth, and I'm confident they'll continue to work for the next 50 years and beyond. Now, I want to leave

you with one final thought. I've always

said that investing is an act of hope, that no one invests for the long term unless they believe the future will be better than the present. But I've come to realize that's not quite right.

Investing isn't just an act of hope.

Investing is what makes our hopes our reality. When you invest, you're not

reality. When you invest, you're not just putting money away. You're

participating in progress. You're

funding innovation.

You're enabling companies to grow, to hire, to create products and services that improve lives. You're building

infrastructure that power civilization.

And in return, you get to share in that growth. You get to build wealth for

growth. You get to build wealth for yourself and your family. You get to create financial security. You get to retire with dignity. You get to leave something for the next generation.

That's the power of these five golden rules. They're not just about making

rules. They're not just about making money. They're about participating in

money. They're about participating in the incredible prosperity creating machine that is the global capital market. They're about giving yourself a

market. They're about giving yourself a stake in humanity's progress. For 400

years, capital markets have democratized ownership and created wealth for ordinary people, maids and artisans, farmers and shopkeepers, teachers and firefighters, people like you. And that

opportunity is still there. In fact,

it's greater now than ever before. We're

expanding access to private markets.

We're lowering costs through technology.

We're creating products that allow everyone to invest like institutions.

The walls are coming down. The gates are opening. And if you follow these five

opening. And if you follow these five golden rules, if you commit to them, if you make them part of your life, you can build real wealth, generational wealth,

the kind of wealth that changes your family's future. But you have to start.

family's future. But you have to start.

You have to commit. You have to be patient. And you have to trust the

patient. And you have to trust the process. I've spent five decades in this

process. I've spent five decades in this business.

I've seen every kind of market, every kind of crisis, every kind of opportunity.

And I'm more optimistic now than I've ever been about the future of investing and wealth creation because these principles work. They've always worked

principles work. They've always worked and they always will. So take these five golden rules, make them your own, live

by them, and watch your wealth