‘The best is yet to come’ for AI

investmentnews.com:

If the Terminator movies were right about one thing, it’s that the machines – and humans’ trust in them – are indeed rising.

A recent Broadridge study found that financial services firms expect to maintain or increase their investments in next-gen technologies like AI, quantum computing, crypto and digital assets, and blockchain over the next two years, with wealth managers looking to increase their investment in AI technologies by 28 percent.

In addition to that, 75 percent of financial services firms are confident about their tech transformation road map, but the study sees a digital maturity gap growing between leaders and non-leaders.

Michael Alexander, president of wealth management and global managed services at Broadridge, says the “maturity gap” shows that bigger firms, which have more discretionary dollars to invest, are doubling down, whereas other firms are “just putting their foot in.”

“That gap is widening because of the level of investments that these firms can make, and there’s also challenges to making this work,” he says. “Part of the maturity gap [or the gap in investments], it relates to how modern your technology is.”

Alexander is quick to point out Broadridge has modernized its systems, making them cloud-enabled and keeping its data all in one place.

“It’s the same data,” he added. “Not having data harmonized is a big challenge to overcome. So the gap comes from the ability to spend, but also how positioned are you to take advantage of it? Some firms are still waiting to see if regulators are going to weigh in and to what degree, so it’s like any kind of new fab.”

The survey also shows that 91 percent of wealth management professionals are investing in cybersecurity technologies, 83 percent in data