What Machine Learning Will Mean for Asset Managers

Some industry experts argue that machine learning (ML) will reverse an increasing trend toward passive investment funds. But although ML offers new tools that could help active investors outperform the indexes, it is unclear whether it will deliver a sustainable business model for active asset managers. Let's start with the positives A form of artificial intelligence, ML enables powerful algorithms to analyze large data sets in order make predictions against defined goals. Instead of precisely following instructions coded by humans, these algorithms self-adjust through a process of trial and error to produce increasingly more accurate prescriptions as more data comes in. ML is particularly adaptable to securities investing because the insights it garners can be acted on quickly and efficiently.