“The AI-powered investment firm,” a ThoughtLab global survey report developed in partnership with Grant Thornton, identifies the best practices of these AI leaders.

73%

of executives across major investment markets said AI is critical to their firm's future

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21%

of those same executives are seeing the highest AI ROI

1.

Align leadership around a clear Al strategy

Leading firms start with shared vision. They bring the C-suite together to define where AI fits into the business — and build a culture that empowers teams to rethink how work gets done.
 

Top strategy steps taken by leaders

Top culture steps taken by leaders

2.

Equip your workforce for an AI-enabled future

As AI reshapes roles, leaders are rethinking talent. They invest in upskilling, build AI literacy programs and prepare teams to work alongside intelligent systems — not be replaced by them.

Build internships and apprenticeship programs with academic institutions

Build internships and apprenticeship programs with academic institutions

Develop strategies to attract, hire, and retain AI-literate talent

Develop strategies to attract, hire, and retain AI-literate talent

Provide ongoing AI training and learning events for employees

Provide ongoing AI training and learning events for employees

3.

Build trust with strong AI governance

Leading firms embed risk, compliance and transparency into every phase of AI adoption, setting clear guardrails to manage risks and maintain stakeholder trust.

81%
Leader Adoption
81% of industry leaders have implemented AI governance frameworks, policies, and guidelines.
63%
Other Firms’ Adoption
63% of other firms have taken the same step to establish AI governance practices.
4.

Modernize your tech foundation

Firms leading in AI success invest first in scalable, cloud-based systems and clean, connected data to ensure their infrastructure can support enterprise-wide innovation.

Top five data strategies of leaders

5.

Reimagine operations for the future of autonomous AI

With GenAI and agentic AI evolving fast, leaders are rethinking business models by embedding AI into workflows to boost efficiency, scale insights and create new value.

Read the full report
The AI-Powered Investment Firm

Read the full report

See how wealth and asset managers are leveraging AI to improve business outcomes and enable tech for growth.

    About our team

    Shona is an Advisory partner and the head of Asset Management for Grant Thornton. She works with the firm’s international community of Asset Management professionals to identify trends and challenges facing the industry and create solutions to support our clients’ needs. Her clients include asset and wealth managers as well as asset servicers.
    Shona O'Hea
    Shona O'Hea
    Head of Asset Management
    Shane joined Grant Thornton Ireland in 2021 as Head of Technical Change within the consulting practice, leading large scale enterprise change programs in the banking sector. Shane is a former Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Information Officer, M&A Director, Solution Architect and Program Manager with more than 17 years experience before joining Grant Thornton.
    Shane O'Neill
    Shane O'Neill
    Partner - Consulting