President Trump is touting new Saudi Arabian investments as part of his trip to the Middle East, but a CEO of the Supreme Wall Street followed him to the Gulf on Tuesday saying uncertainty surrounding trade still sat Western investors on trillions of dollars in cash.
"There are 12 trillion euros in bank accounts in Europe. In the United States, there is 11 trillion US dollars in funding," said Larry Fink, CEO of BLK, to deputies at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.
"When there is uncertainty, you're keeping more and more money in cash, and that's what we're witnessing," Fink added.
His comments came after the U.S. and China announced a 90-day trade armistice, which included tariffs from both countries, a development that cheered the market and eased anxiety about the path ahead.
Fink said clear investor demand “maybe earlier than we thought, maybe three weeks ago, but how global trade works now is still far from a decision, and many investors will wait for this “equilibrium” before redistribution from cash.
His hope is that once investors are ready to return to the market, they will choose to allocate more funds to the private market, which deepens the business of his company Blackrock.
"Yes, we're going to fluctuate over the next 90 days, but the big thing I'm going to be aware of: Are we able to see more positive private investment opportunities in every economy," Fink said.
Other CEOs present acknowledged Fink’s view on uncertainty.
Citigroup (C) CEO Jane Fraser expressed optimism for those with unknown numbers, saying: "Volatility is an opportunity for those who stand in front of the front and seize the moment."
Wall Street Bank’s trading operations are expected to benefit from the overall turmoil as customers seek to adapt to the latest shift in U.S. tariffs.
On Tuesday in Riyadh, Fink, Fraser and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman joined Tesla CEO Elon Musk for lunch, other U.S. and Saudi Arabia officials, along with many other large executives, as well as a list provided by the New York-era White House.
The White House said on Tuesday that Donald Trump received a $600 billion investment commitment at the Saudi Arabia summit. US chip giant NVIDIA (NVDA) also announced a partnership with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
David Hollerith is a senior journalist at Yahoo Finance, covering other areas in the banking industry, cryptocurrency and other areas.
Click here to dig into the latest stock market news and events to transfer stock prices
Read Yahoo Finance's latest financial and business news