The world’s largest asset management firm just released its 2026 investment outlook, highlighting several key trends: artificial intelligence, geopolitics, and stablecoins are reshaping market rules at an astonishing pace.

Let’s start with AI. We’re no longer in a hype phase—real money is driving the rise of US stocks. What’s the issue? The time lag between investment and returns. Building computing centers, buying chips, setting up infrastructure—the money goes in first, but the profits may take three to five years to materialize. This “long-cycle investment” has turned the market into a battleground dominated by tech stocks, while other sectors are temporarily sidelined.

But the report offers another perspective: once AI-generated profits start spreading across industries, active stock-picking opportunities will emerge. Even bolder, it predicts that by 2026, AI-related investments could push US economic growth to three times its historical average. Even if the labor market cools, the economy could still keep expanding.

Stablecoins are even more intriguing. The report suggests that stablecoins have already begun to erode traditional banks’ deposit business. If regulations loosen further, even the lending market could be disrupted. In some emerging markets, stablecoins are directly taking on functions of local currencies—expanding the dollar’s influence and putting extra pressure on local central banks. This isn’t just about digital currency; it’s a contest over financial infrastructure.

In terms of investment strategy, the firm’s choices are clear: long-term bets on AI and infrastructure, short-term allocations to US tech stocks and emerging market bonds, with gold serving only as a temporary risk-hedging tool.

Is this wave of heavy AI investment a true opportunity or a bubble in the making? Can stablecoins really shake the foundations of traditional banks?