WHEN: TODAY, THURSDAY, APRIL 6
WHERE: CNBC'S "SQUAWK BOX"
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) today, Thursday, April 6. Following are links to the video on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000607981, http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000607979 and http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000607978.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
FINK ON COMPUTERS
WHAT WE DID MOST IMPORTANTLY WAS IN U.S. EQUITIES, IT WAS MORE OF THE LARGE CAP AREA WHERE I'VE STATED IN THE PAST – I THINK ON THIS SHOW – THAT WE'RE SEEING A DEMOCRATIZATION OF INFORMATION. AT YOUR FINGERTIPS WE HAVE SO MUCH INFORMATION. AND SO YOU HAVE TO LOOK FOR DIFFERENT SOURCES OF INFORMATION. LET ME BE CLEAR, WE ARE NOT SUBSTITUTING HUMANS FOR MACHINES. WE'RE REORIENTING SOME OF THE HUMAN JOBS IN TERMS OF DOING MORE DATA SCIENCE AND DATA ANALYSIS.
FINK ON AI'S FUTURE
WE HOPE WE COULD CREATE SOME TYPE OF AI/WATSON THAT CAN RIGHT NOW AID US IN INVESTING AND ULTIMATELY CAN ACTUALLY INVEST BETTER THAN HUMANS. RIGHT NOW THAT IS MORE OF A MYTH THAN A REALITY.
FINK ON LOWERING FEES
WE HAVE BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE IN LOWERING OUR FEES. AS I SAID, A YEAR AGO WE DID THAT WITH OUR ETF PLATFORM AND WE'VE HAD HUGE INFLOWS IN THAT. WE DID THAT IN OUR FIXED INCOME PLATFORM AND NOW WE'RE DOING THAT IN OUR EQUITY PLATFORM. SO THERE IS A MOVEMENT TOWARDS LOWER FEES BUT MUCH OF IT HAS TO DO WITH THE PERSISTENCE OF LOW ABSOLUTE RETURNS.
FINK ON TRUMP-XI MEETING
I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO BE GOOD LISTENERS AND SEE WHAT OUR NEW ADMINISTRATION IS -- WHAT THEIR INTENTIONS ARE RELATED TO THE RELATIONSHIP. I ACTUALLY AM OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THIS, THAT THIS IS GOING ON TO BE A GOOD MEETING. BOTH SIDES, ACTUALLY, NEED SOME FORM OF SUCCESS. I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE THE RELATIONSHIPS. I THINK OBVIOUSLY NORTH KOREA WILL BE A MAJOR COMPONENT OF THE CONVERSATIONS.
FINK ON CHINA CURRENCY
THEY ARE A CURRENCY MANIPULATOR, BUT THE OPPOSITE. THEY HAVE SPENT ALMOST $1 TRILLION KEEPING THE CURRENCY WHERE IT IS. AND BY ALL MEASURES, WHEN YOU LOOK RELATIVE TO OTHER CURRENCIES, CHINA CURRENCY IS ACTUALLY PRETTY HIGH. AND THEY'VE BEEN KEEPING IT HIGH. IF YOU LOOK AT EXACTLY THEIR BEHAVIORS, THEY ARE LISTENING TO PRESIDENT TRUMP, THEY'RE TRYING TO KEEP THEIR CURRENCY STRONG.
FINK ON TAX REFORM
WE DON'T HAVE THE TAX REFORM THAT WE'RE EXPECTING IF WE DON'T SEE A TRUE DEREGULATION, I THINK THE MARKETS WOULD HAVE SOME SETBACKS THERE. AND YOU'RE SEEING THAT -- YOU'RE SEEING A SLOWING DOWN OF OUR ECONOMY INTO THE FIRST QUARTER. WE'RE GOING TO GROW PROBABLY LESS THAN 1.5%. AND MUCH OF IT IS PEOPLE ARE JUST WAITING TO SEE WITH A LITTLE MORE CERTAINTY WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH TAX REFORM AND DEREGULATION AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO POSITION OURSELVES. IN FACT, I THINK THE FIRST QUARTER, THE U.S. MAY BE THE SLOWEST ECONOMY IN THE G7.
FINK ON MARKETS
IF YOU BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD BE LONGER FOR THESE TO TRANSPIRE AND WE HAVE AN ECONOMY THAT IS SLOWER BECAUSE OF THE UNCERTAINTY, THEN I WOULD SAY THE MARKET IS -- THE U.S. EQUITY MARKETS ARE PROBABLY HIGHER THAN THEY SHOULD BE.
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