Most Asset Managers See No Better Returns From AI Yet, Report Shows

Only eight per cent of fund managers say artificial intelligence has actually improved their investment returns, despite widespread uptake of the technology across the global asset management sector. A joint study by Morgan Stanley and Oliver Wyman points to a clear gap between the rapid rollout of tools and their actual impact on making money for investors.

Survey Findings

Titled Breaking from the Pack: The Race for Above-Market Growth, the September 2026 BluePaper cites a survey by Mercer showing that 55 per cent of firms have already put artificial intelligence into at least one part of how they invest. Another 27 per cent of companies are currently testing out various applications. Most of these gains stay limited to office efficiency and gathering research rather than boosting final profits. Sixty-nine per cent of managers note better day-to-day work efficiency, and 55 per cent point to sharper insights and decision-making. Yet, just 24 per cent managed to cut down their expenses.

Where It Is Used

Firms use the technology most in investment research at 49 per cent, followed closely by data processing at 40 per cent. It still plays a very small role in actual money decisions, with only 13 per cent using it to build portfolios and just 7 per cent using it to execute trades. The study notes that whether faster research leads to steady market-beating returns is still unproven, adding that office productivity boosts do not automatically lead to big financial gains across an entire business.

Context

Artificial intelligence tools have flooded financial offices in recent years to help humans read documents and sort numbers at record speeds. However, finding an edge in the stock market remains difficult because any advantage spreads quickly across competing firms. This research highlights how new office software does not instantly fix the core challenge of beating market averages.