Meliosa O’Caoimh, Country Head, Ireland at Northern Trust: Over the past year, AI adoption in asset management has accelerated, particularly in the last six months, as firms seek efficiency and resilience amid margin pressures.

As an asset servicing provider to both large and boutique asset manager clients, Northern Trust continues to trial and leverage the use of AI in our business alongside technologies including robotic process automation, blockchain, and cloud computing. This includes exploring opportunities via our Innovation Laboratory in Limerick to streamline fund administration, enhance compliance processes and optimize client onboarding.

Our focus is on reducing manual activity for clients, helping them manage costs, and improve accuracy – delivering operational economies that benefit investment managers and the wider funds ecosystem.

Beyond helping drive efficiency, these technologies can support investment decision-making by enabling advanced analytics, predictive modelling, and faster data integration. Our data platform supports risk analysis and scenario planning, helping investment managers identify opportunities, manage volatility proactively and gain insights to bolster their ability to achieve outperformance in increasingly complex markets.

Furio Pietribiasi, CEO, Mediolanum International Funds: We’re now in an era of mainstream adoption of generative AI powered by large Generative AI, powered by large language models (LLMs), has moved from concept to mainstream adoption. For Mediolanum International Funds, this is not about chasing trends or experimenting but about using technology to deliver tangible benefits: more scalability, better products and services. In our view, AI is a tool - not an end in itself - and its value lies in how it enhances outcomes for clients.

AI now is already a reality in the way we operate, but we have an ambitious three-year roadmap to be ready to enable next-generation AI capabilities across investment, risk, and products and services. The ambition is clear: having a tech company mindset combining AI-driven insights with human judgement to improve client experience and investment excellence.

Our approach is pragmatic: adopt proven AI solutions, prioritise ROI, and embed responsible use in every initiative. Regulation and skills remain barriers for some, but for those with the right structure and vision, AI offers a competitive edge that will reshape asset management.

Gerry Brady, Independent Non-Executive Director & Consultant: Not just in our own industry, but every time we open an app we see ever increasing incidences of AI in action and this trend will undoubtedly continue and accelerate. For the non-technical cynic like me, AI is data analytics ‘dressed up’ but there clearly remains tremendous scope for further automation, date manipulation and analysis. However, I have yet to witness the paradigm shift on our workforce and operating model and while, undoubtedly the push for more automation will eliminate certain jobs, this was happening already.

AI remains an ancillary element within the operating model, rather than an increasingly mainstream feature of the operating model. I was also an INED for a fund which launched at the start of this year embracing machine learning for the construction of the portfolio. The machine learning model had been back tested for 18 months with excellent results but within a few months of launch, the fund had to be suspended and ultimately liquidated. I am sure that the inauguration of Donald Trump and the instigation of his clear, consistent economic policies (around the time of the launch of the fund) have very little to do with this.

One disturbing aspect of AI which remains a challenge is ‘hallucinations’ and in a regulated industry, wherein trust is so fundamental, it is difficult for me to see AI as other than an extremely important productivity tool, still requiring careful oversight and review. I do not doubt that AI, in all its various forms, will greatly contribute to increased productivity but experienced, trusted human labour is still going to be a very valuable resource well into the future. A Mark Twain quote comes to mind…..