Insights into Investing in AI by BPI Wealth

Press Release

Oct 04, 2023

BPI Wealth, the wealth management arm of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), recently hosted "A.I.VOLUTION: Unleashing the Power of AI in Investments," featuring Blackrock’s Managing Director and head of A.I. Labs, Reid Menge, who shared various insights into AI’s transformative potential and how different industries can benefit from the AI boom.

This exclusive private event brought together over 100 esteemed clients of BPI Wealth who were eager to explore the latest developments in the field of artificial intelligence, its transformative potential, and the investment opportunities in technology.

“The rapid rate of advancement in artificial intelligence holds great promise in addressing challenges and improving many industries including the investment space. However, it's also important to note that AI’s trajectory will depend on how we collectively navigate the ethical and practical considerations surrounding its growth and deployment,” noted Teresa Marcial, President and CEO of BPI Wealth.

Investment opportunities in AI

In his talk, Reid Menge showcased various use cases of AI in large language models, voice optimization, predictive analytics, risk assessment, and data optimization, emphasizing the remarkable speed and precision AI brings to these processes.

“Every decade brings a massive shift in technology space. What’s happening now is that there is a re-platforming going on – the internet is being re-platformed, your smart phones, computers, everything is being re-platformed to go into an era of accelerated computing to enable artificial intelligence. When this happens, you get new winners emerging,” he said.

Menge noted that investors should be on the lookout for new companies that can serve the needs in developing and supporting AI. He pointed out that advancements in AI would benefit the entire technology ecosystem, especially industries that produce and supply high-powered hardware, semiconductors, data centers, as well as producers of software and data tools. He said that these companies can cash in on the speed of innovation, and these new entrants can become the dominant franchises of this generation.

In 2021, BPI Wealth launched the BPI World Technology Feeder Fund which is an innovative product that invests in today’s leaders and tomorrow’s winners in the technology space, including key players in artificial intelligence. The target fund’s top holdings as of August 2023 include Alphabet Inc, which owns Google which developed AI platform Bard, and Nvidia which is expected to be one of the earliest beneficiaries due to the strength in demand for building the infrastructure that enable generative AI model development. Aside from these companies, the fund also has exposure in Microsoft, one of the biggest investors in OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research laboratory that launched ChatGPT. Sector-wise, the fund is exposed to sectors that are expected to grow with the rapid pace of development in AI, such as software, tech hardware, and semi-conductors.

BPI President and CEO TG Limcaoco highlighted that the bank recognizes the potential of AI to revolutionize banking services. He shared that the bank has been using AI to roll out new features in the BPI App such as Track and Plan. “This AI-powered personal finance management tool will revolutionize the way you manage your finances. It tracks and analyzes your financial activities, offers insights into your spending habits, suggests innovative investment opportunities, and helps you plan for a secure financial future,” he noted.

About BPI Wealth:

BPI Wealth – A Trust Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of the Philippine Islands authorized to engage in trust and other fiduciary services. With a strong capital position and an independent trust governance structure, BPI Wealth is the largest standalone trust corporation in the Philippines, with Php 1.145 Tn in assets under management as of August 2023. BPI Wealth – A Trust Corporation is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.