The asset management industry can no longer ignore the profound impact of artificial intelligence, which is poised to take over many traditional roles, a leading figure at Royal London Asset Management has declared.
The Inevitable Shift in Team Structures
Rob Middleton, chief data officer at Royal London Asset Management, stated that firms must stop avoiding the conversation and accept that AI is already reshaping how teams function. He emphasised the need for realistic planning for future team structures as AI becomes "agentic" and begins working through tasks autonomously.
"We have to attempt to get into workshop settings with open minded people about what we want to be," Middleton said on Thursday, 20 November 2024. While he confirmed the technology doesn't change the fundamental premise of asset management, it will undoubtedly change the way services are delivered to clients.
Which Roles Are Most at Risk?
Middleton was blunt about the fate of certain positions, stating that the writing is on the wall for manual, data-heavy tasks. "Anything that looks like data, ETL-type tasks that have been done manually, forget about it," he warned. He also singled out pure coding roles, suggesting that "Code-cutting as a pure science… forget about it."
This shift will radically compress the time humans spend on data assembly, a cornerstone of junior roles. Middleton predicts a flip, where machines handle the heavy lifting, allowing analysts to focus on higher-value interpretation and oversight.
Navigating the Human Impact and Regulatory Future
The transition is not without its challenges, and Middleton acknowledged the anxiety present within his own organisation, where some researchers are "a little nervous that it is coming for their job."
He stressed the critical need to involve HR early in the process to manage this change without causing alienation or strife. Despite the accelerating AI arms race, evidenced by Nvidia's recent results, Middleton confirmed that regulators will insist on a human backstop for years to come.
"I would expect for at least some time, all of our use of models and AI to go under a human’s nose before you do anything serious," he said. However, he added that firms cannot simply shrug their shoulders and blame a black box when things go wrong.
With Royal London already conducting future-mapping exercises, Middleton admits that while no one has all the answers, the industry in the next three to five years is "going to look very different from today".
