BlackRock’s chief executive Larry Fink has warned the world is entering a period of “economic malaise”, claiming “pessimism” in the following the Covid pandemic and a turbulent 2022 could deter investors from markets.

“The challenges society has experienced, not just in the past year but since the pandemic, has eroded hope and reinforced pessimism in many parts of the world”, Fink told analysts during BlackRock’s fourth-quarter earnings call on 13 January.