AI may assist but can’t outdo human fund managers in mutual funds, say experts
Deepak Shenoy, Founder of Capitalmind, said mutual fund management must remain a human responsibility. “You can’t delegate your decision-making authority to anything, including an algorithm, an AI, or whatever you may call it. So in the end, it’s the human, the fund manager, that’s responsible,” he said.
He described AI as a round-the-clock research assistant. “AI is like a 24-hour assistant. You can go in the night at 11 o’clock and say, I want to research something. It can point things out to you much faster than traditional search engines… and help in analysis of large datasets,” Shenoy said. He added that AI can write analytical code but should not handle customer interactions or key decisions. “It has to come from a human being for the most part… apart from mundane tasks like telling portfolio value, I won’t use AI in a customer-facing unfettered environment,” he said.
Dhirendra Kumar, CEO of Value Research, said the use of AI will continue to grow but is not yet equipped to manage portfolios or advise investors. “Use of AI will rise, will grow. But in its current form, [it] cannot truly manage your stock portfolio, or mutual fund selection, or stock recommendation, or even advise,” Kumar said.
He said AI and machine learning can identify trends and signals, but the final investment calls remain human-led. “The most successful investors utilise technology to enhance decision-making, and I don’t think it is going to replace it,” he said. “It is quite some time away from being a substitute for human judgement or discipline.”
For the entire discussion, watch the accompanying video
(Edited by : Anshul)