Welcome to the golden age of AI

For financial advisors, artificial intelligence can lead to deeper insights as AI models parse massive data sets, seeking meaningful patterns and signals amid millions of data points.

With the release of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence has gone viral. Users testing the bounds of the remarkable AI-generated content have been unequivocally won over by its seemingly endless creativity with language and the speed with which it is generated.

AI represents the union of human intuition with the unrivaled computational prowess of machines. Undoubtedly, the future of content creation is forever changed as ChatGPT increases its accuracy and expands its ability to learn.

Given the widespread and largely positive dialogue around AI since ChatGPT’s unveiling, we believe we are at an inflection point where the Golden Age of AI begins. For practitioners who have yet to harness the power of AI, now is the time to begin to make that change, or risk falling behind.

BEYOND CONTENT CREATION, AI IS TRANSFORMING INVESTMENT DECISION MAKING

While advisors certainly need a robust stream of content to educate and engage with clients, advisors must also demonstrate investment acumen to attract and retain clients. Practitioners who embrace technological advances in portfolio management have the greatest potential to thrive in this new age.

We asked ChatGPT what it sees as the top AI technologies to reshape the investment industry in 2023. As a technology firm focused on transforming investment decision making with AI, we have our own views, but were curious to see the results.

ChatGPT identified things like predictive analytics for market forecasting, sentiment analysis, deep learning algorithms for automated trading , AI-powered robo-advisors and robotic process automation for streamlining investment processes. As experienced AI practitioners, we were not surprised by the list, but, like most ChatGPT users, we were delighted by the speed of the response and the detailed information ChatGPT provided on each technology.

For financial advisors, AI can lead to deeper insights as AI models parse massive data sets, seeking meaningful patterns and signals amid the noise of millions of data points. AI extends the analytical depth of the skilled human practitioner but without human emotion and can provide timely investment recommendations and immediate actionable insights to help advisors manage risks while seeking to preserve and grow wealth over time.

One area where we expect early adoption of AI in an advisor’s practice is with market risk indicators. Navigating market volatility is a challenge, but AI tools constantly learn and adapt to new data and evolving market conditions and do so in real time. Financial advisors who incorporate signals for the AI-predicted risk regime receive clear entry and exit points for market exposure, which has the potential to lead to superior results over time.

AI responds to fast-moving market data objectively, and financial advisors who put their trust in technology and embrace AI-driven recommendations will have the advantage. While many investors are keen to de-risk when volatility rises, few have the discipline to get back into risk assets to allow for more complete participation on the upside. The ability to not be held back by human emotion or preconceived notions, to trust cutting edge technology, is what will set apart advisors who thrive in the golden age of AI.

HUMAN-SUPERVISED AI

No, AI is not going to take over your job. However, the advisor who embraces AI in managing client assets will.

AI stands for artificial intelligence, not artificial intuition, and AI is — and will remain — dependent on humans. Additionally, AI applications in investment decision making require human involvement, from the investment expert identifying the opportunity, to partnering with data scientists and data engineers to create and train the AI-driven investment solution to attain the desired outcome, to the ongoing fiduciary oversight and supervision to ensure the solution performs as intended.

IN AI WE TRUST

A final point to make relates to trust. Part of what has been so astounding about ChatGPT is the rate at which millions of users flocked to the tool, which quickly earned their trust with its largely accurate responses. We believe we are on the cusp of wide-spread trust in AI extending to investment advisory, where trust is a key element in establishing and maintaining long-term relationships.

With an increased acceptance and trust in AI and its extraordinary computational powers, we expect advisory clients will soon begin to expect their advisor to incorporate AI tools and techniques in their practice. Investment advisors who are early adopters of AI tools and techniques will garner the most success, and the most clients, in the olgden age of AI.

Francis Geeseok Oh is APAC CEO of Qraft Technologies.