Big majority across global investment industry call for AI guidelines, says CFA

A significant majority (85%) of investment industry employers see a need for industry-wide standards and ethical guidelines for AI/GenAI, with 82% stating the lack of such standards hinders faster adoption, according to  the CFA Institute's new survey data on the views of employers concerning the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence in the investment sector. 

The global association of investment professionals said today's (28 August) survey canvassed the views of investment industry professionals including investment managers and human resources professionals.

The survey found widespread agreement on the need for standards for the use of artificial intelligence and that the absence of standards is preventing faster industry adoption of the technologies. The survey results also identify a need for workforce upskilling in the responsible use of AI and Generative AI tools while respondents cited notable levels of organizational unpreparedness and workforce anxiety about the technologies.

Margaret Franklin, CFA, president and CEO, CFA Institute said: “Increasing accessibility to large language models is rapidly adding to the pace of the AI-led revolution of the investment industry. Many leading organizations have expertise with these tools, but industry-wide we see an unsettled picture.

"Employers tell us they need best practices, guardrails, and standardized 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 organizations to ensure their AI-leveraged work for investors is performed both responsibly and ethically.”

Among further key findings, data privacy and security are ranked as the biggest roadblock to faster AI/Gen AI deployment by 16% of employers; 13% rank a lack of knowledge and tools as the biggest roadblock.

Over two thirds (70%) of employers said they have a preferred or essential need for workforce training and upskilling on regulatory compliance and risk-related skills related to AI/GenAI.

Nearly half (47 %) believed their organizations were not well prepared for potential regulatory changes regarding AI/GenAI.

The survey also revealed mixed feelings among the workforce about AI/GenAI, with 68% saying their firm’s workforce seems curious about artificial intelligence; 60% say the workforce seems anxious, and 48% note resistance.

They survey was conducted in February 2024 and incorporates the views of 200 investment industry representatives from investment firms ranging in size from less than $5bn in assets under management to more than $100bn in assets under management.