There is widespread agreement in the investment industry on the need for standards to be introduced for the use of artificial intelligence (AI), the CFA Institute has found.

Its research highlighted industry feelings that the absence of standards was preventing faster adoption of AI within the sector.

Furthermore, the CFA Institute’s survey identified a need for workforce upskilling in the use of AI and generative AI tools, with respondents highlighting organisational unpreparedness and workforce anxiety about the technologies.

The study found that 85 per cent of employers believed there was a need for industry-wide standards and ethical guidelines for AI, with 82 per cent stating the lack of standards was hindering faster adoption.

Data privacy and security were the largest barriers to increased AI uptake, cited by 16 per cent of employers, while 13 per cent felt the lack of knowledge and tools was the biggest roadblock.

Furthermore, 70 per cent of respondents said they had a preferred or essential need for workforce training and upskilling on regulatory compliance and risk-related skills on AI.

Nearly half (47 per cent) felt their organisations were not well prepared for potential regulatory changes for AI.

Investment firms’ workforces were found to have “mixed feelings” about AI, with 68 per cent saying their firm’s workforce seemed curious about AI, 60 per cent stating their workforce seemed anxious, and 48 per cent saw resistance.

“Increasing accessibility to large language models is rapidly adding to the pace of the AI-led revolution of the investment industry,” commented CFA Institute president and CEO, Margaret Franklin.

“Many leading organisations have expertise with these tools, but industry-wide we see an unsettled picture. Employers tell us they need best practices, guardrails, and standardised policies to help their teams move safely into the new AI plus human intelligence (HI) era.

“Further, the absence of standards and concerns around data privacy may be slowing down AI adoption.”

“We’re continually researching how AI and gen AI are being incorporated into investment roles and the implications for individuals, workflows, and firms. Our view is that the equation of AI + HI works best.

“As a result, we see similar needs around upskilling organisations to ensure their AI-leveraged work for investors is performed both responsibly and ethically.”

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