BlackRock Chief Investment Officer Rick Rieder says a recent surge in U.S. equities follows an announcement by President Donald Trump that the U.S. and Iran are moving toward a peace deal. In comments reported by both Financial Post and Bloomberg, Rieder attributes the rally to investors beginning to redeploy cash held in money market funds.
Rieder points to the large size of the money market fund sector, saying it holds roughly $8 trillion to $9 trillion. His view is that, as policy expectations and risk appetite shift, investors move some of that cash away from money market vehicles and into broader risk assets such as equities.
Both outlets characterize his remarks as linking market performance to the gradual “unlocking” of liquidity from money market funds rather than attributing the rally to a single company-specific development. The reports focus on his interpretation of investor behavior and the broad market impact of the political announcement.
