Forget old allocations rules—many retirees should stay in stocks, argues BlackRock's CEO
Americans saving for retirement and new retirees need to have a longer investment time horizon, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink told CNBC on Tuesday.
It's all about math, said Fink, the leader of the world's biggest money manager, which looks after more than $5 trillion in client assets.
"Statistically now, if you're 60 and in good health you're going to live to 90," Fink told "Squawk Box."
"So you have 30 more years," he stressed, advocating a heavier investment in stocks for longer, in order to generate the kind of returns needed to live on in retirement.
Fink said a generation ago when employees left their jobs they had the security of a pension to fall back on.
But nowadays, as seen in the 2008 financial crisis, he said many people who lost their jobs walked away with a defined contribution plan that they need to manage over the long haul, without the benefit of a pension in retirement.
"Most people have panicked over time. They overinvest in bonds, overinvest in cash, [and] underinvest in equities," Fink said.
"I think that's one of the contributions to this fear and anger" many Americans are feeling as they face an uncertain future about how to pay for their golden years, he added.