ValueAct’s Morfit unveils BlackRock stake, says tech can make it ‘more powerful’
ValueAct’s Mason Morfit unveiled a stake in BlackRock , saying the firm could lead on investment management software. Morfit, the activist investing firm’s co-CEO, disclosed the holding for the first time on an episode of “The Master Investor,” a podcast hosted by CNBC contributor Wilfred Frost . Morfit’s revelation comes ahead of the fund’s regulatory filling expected Tuesday. “It was already the apex predator,” Morfit said, according to a transcript shared with CNBC. “But with the ingesting of software DNA into its dinosaur body, it becomes even more and more powerful.” Morfit said BlackRock’s Aladdin platform could help automate investment decisions, factoring in risk and position preferences. That would allow portfolios to be managed “far better and faster and cheaper than a human being could do it,” he said. BlackRock bills Aladdin as a tech platform that brings together the management process via a common data language. The firm notes that Aladdin’s platform can view a whole portfolio across both public and private markets. Such a technology can help BlackRock break free of its reputation as the exchange-traded fund manager that’s been stuck in price war with competitor Vanguard, Morfit said. To be sure, Morfit acknowledged his investing thesis can be viewed as “strange,” given the threat that this technology causes to active managers like himself. But he said there’s “a lot of inefficiencies” in the sector, creating the need for a company to organize and streamline technology in the industry. “BlackRock has historically been viewed, I think as a diversified asset management that’s really good at making ETFs,” Morfit said. “But the interesting thing that piqued my attention in the last 12 months was that BlackRock is also one of the best data and software companies in the industry.” BlackRock shares dropped more than 3% in February, putting the stock near its flatline for 2026 following a three-year win streak. Shares have undeformed the broader market recently: BlackRock has gained under 50% over the last three years, while the S & P 500 has added nearly 67%. BLK .SPX 1Y mountain BlackRock vs. S & P 500, 1-year But most analysts polled by LSEG have buy ratings on BlackRock. The typical price target suggests shares can climb more than 23% over the next year.
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