Artificial intelligence – are you ready?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around since the 1950s but what actually is AI? 

It generally refers to a suite of technologies and modelling techniques enabled by adaptive predictive power with a degree of autonomous learning. Realistically the AI utilised today is viewed as basic by the scientific and academic community but the results can have profound positive impact on improving efficiency, managing risk and enhancing decision-making. Ultimately, understanding and articulating business goals are key for determining tech focus, enabling opportunities and the transformation of business models.

Within investment management, the application of AI brings together everything from the computational analysis of huge structured and unstructured data sets for better pattern recognition to the identification of sales and distribution trends, client enablement, product pricing and portfolio management and construction. 

As the operating environment for investment management experiences sustained transformation with increased fee and margin compression, investment managers are now starting to exploit the potential of AI. Although many are at the beginning of their digital journey, AI investment across the industry is not only generating significant value but bringing the prospect of the fully digital investment manager much closer.

Data processing is understandably seen as the highest priority for the application of AI. We are seeing an industry now looking to engage external specialist FinTech providers to deliver future AI solutions, with investment and ops at the forefront of adoption, reducing manual processes and managing data volumes and analytics.

But ‘what is everyone else doing’ and where do I start?

The reality is many are ‘talking the talk’ but not necessarily ‘walking the walk’ when it comes to fully understanding and defining what an AI strategy really looks like. It must be created in line with business goals with a clear understanding of the associated risks and rewards. Pilots and POCs with existing use cases are crucial to understanding the potential value of both quick wins and the long-term implications associated with a transformative approach. 

Collaborations and partnerships with FinTech solution providers make expert skillsets available to complement existing infrastructure and resource. It is however clear that successful adoption of any solution requires stakeholder engagement at multiple levels with a collaborative culture interlinking personnel and technology.

For more information on how your firm can collaborate with FinTech solution providers, please contact me directly on my email: [email protected].