BlackRock bulks up research into artificial intelligence

BlackRock is setting up a new centre dedicated to research in artificial intelligence, underscoring the heightened interest among asset managers in how machine learning can revolutionise many facets of the investment industry. The world's biggest investment group, with $6.3tn of assets under management, is establishing a "BlackRock Lab for Artificial Intelligence" in Palo Alto, California, according to an internal memo seen by the Financial Times. The memo, sent by Rob Goldstein -- BlackRock's chief operating officer who is in charge of the company's technology group -- said that the lab will "augment our current teams and accelerate our efforts to bring the benefits of these technologies to the entirety of the firm and to our clients". AI has emerged as a hot topic across the corporate world in recent years as the swelling power of modern computers and expanding reams of digital data have unlocked fields like machine learning and natural language processing. The asset management industry is particularly interested in the area, as they try to improve the performance of their fund managers, automate back-office functions to cut costs and enhance their client outreach by analysing vast amounts of internal and external data. Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, the world's biggest manager of retirement savings, recently said AI could ultimately even replace human fund managers.