Asset Managers Ponder Investments in AI as Security Risks Compound

Asset management firms are expected to make investments in artificial intelligence tools over the next 12 months, according to a report from cloud computing company Rackspace Technology.

Of asset managers surveyed, 63% said the current economic climate will cause them to invest in information technology over the next 12 months, as security threats compound, and as AI tools promise to help reduce costs, manage risks and inform decisions, according to the report.

The report also found that 73% of respondents believe pervasive AI will be the thing that has the most impact on their organization. Out of these respondents, 58% said an increase in regulation will be the most impactful thing for their organization, while 38% of respondents say hiring talent, capital constraints, cybersecurity and data privacy will have the most positive or negative impact on their organization.

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT took the world by storm in 2023, and the Rackspace report predicted that companies will actively implement AI in 2024. Some investment professionals, including CIOs, told CIO this year that they are using artificial intelligence tools to summarize meeting notes and perform other clerical tasks, although none so far have used the technology to directly inform investment decisions.

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“These results highlight an evolution in artificial intelligence, signaling a decisive shift from the theoretical exploration of generative AI,” said Jeff DeVerter, chief technology evangelist at Rackspace Technology, in the report. “The proliferation of pilot programs we saw in 2023 will result in active implementation in 2024.”

Among the challenges that asset managers report with AI implementation, labor issues are the most prevalent, according to the report. The overwhelming problem with implementing AI is a lack of talent, with 62% of asset managers saying they struggle to hire people with the requisite skill sets related to artificial intelligence.

Asset management firms also expect that AI will bring improved security, as 54% of surveyed asset firms identified security as the most expected benefit from AI in the near future.

Rackspace interviewed 1,420 IT professionals across many professions located in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The survey was conducted in collaboration with Dell and VMWare.

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Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, Asset Management, Jeff DeVerter, Rackspace

Pension risk transfers logged a record number of transactions in the year’s third quarter: 207, according to LIMRA, the insurance trade association. Although the quarter’s PRT premium income was far lower than the quarterly dollar record set in Q3 2022, LIMRA thinks it showed smaller plans were getting in on the PRT action.

In dollar terms, the September-ending quarter clocked $10.4 billion in premiums, down 60% from the record set in last year’s third quarter ($26.1 billion), which carried 2022 overall to a record. Nonetheless, the large number of transactions “signals broader interest with midsize and small plans,” said Keith Golembiewski, senior director of strategic initiatives at LIMRA, in a statement.

The year’s first two quarters were marked by several major deals, particularly the $8.1 billion PRT in May involving AT&T Inc. and two subsidiaries of Athene Holdings, while the third quarter did not have such monster transactions. One of its largest deals was the $1 billion in obligations transferred to Prudential Financial from PSEG, an energy provider.

If the burgeoning PRT trend continues on its current path, LIMRA predicted that this year will be the second largest in terms of premium volume, after last year’s blowout performance.

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As PRT provider Legal & General Retirement America analyzed in a statement last month, “the market continues to exhibit rapid growth, and total market volume is estimated to close at around $45 billion at the end of 2023—the second largest year to date following 2022’s total of $51.9 billion.”

Among the forces driving PRT deals lately are higher interest rates, which reduce plan liabilities, thus rendering transfers more appealing to the insurers who receive the plans, an Aon analysis found. Another factor: steadily rising premiums from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

The steady demand in recent years for PRT is one of the factors attracting investors to the insurance industry. So far in the second half of 2023 alone, managers of both public and private assets have entered or expanded their exposure to the insurance and reinsurance business.