New CFA Institute survey reveals industry-wide need for standards and education on AI and GenAI in investing

CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, has released new survey data on the views of investment industry employers concerning the responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the investment sector. The 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 AI 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. Respondents cited notable levels of organisational unpreparedness and workforce anxiety about the technologies.  
   
Margaret Franklin, CFA, President and CEO, CFA Institute, comments: “Increasing accessibility to large language models is rapidly adding to the pace of the AI-led revolution of the investment industry. 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.”