Which three attributes separate AI winners from losers in asset management—and does your firm have them?

Angelo Calvello, host of Institutional Edge, interviews Ajmal (AJ) Hachim, Vice President and co-lead of Berkshire Global Advisors' Financial Technology practice, about artificial intelligence's transformative impact on asset management. Hachim explains why AI has become table stakes for investment firms and discusses strategic implementation approaches through build, buy, or lease models. The conversation explores competitive advantages gained through proprietary data access, organizational culture requirements for AI success, and potential industry consolidation pressures. Hachim identifies three critical attributes separating future winners from losers while addressing concerns about autonomous decision-making and multi-agentic systems in institutional investing.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Guest Ajmal Hachim, AI's winner-take-all effect

(02:28) AI as table stakes for asset managers across all business functions

(06:11) Build, buy, or lease strategies for AI implementation

(09:23) Competitive advantages and industry consolidation patterns

(12:18) Three key attributes for AI winners in asset management

(17:07) Multi-agentic systems and autonomous decision making challenges

(20:31) Big tech hyperscalers entering asset management space

(22:37) Berkshire Global's internal AI initiatives and workflow optimization

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Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators.

As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.

Resources:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajmalhachim/
https://berkshireglobal.com/our-team/aj-hachim/

• (00:00:00) - Leveraging AI
• (00:02:28) - Berkshire Hathaway On AI's Impact on Asset Management
• (00:04:59) - Should Asset Managers Build or Lease AI?
• (00:11:50) - What are the key attributes that you envision the winners in our industry
• (00:14:25) - Beyond the AI: The Fit of Companies
• (00:16:47) - Are Asset Management Companies Ready for Agents of Multigenic Systems?
• (00:22:06) - Berkshire Hathaway's AI Strategy

How do you distinguish substance from hype when managers claim AI implementation advantages?

In this week's The Institutional Edge, Angelo welcomes Chris Walvoord, recently the Global Head of Liquid Alternatives Research and Portfolio Management at AON, where he led a team of 14 supporting Advisory and OCIO businesses across hedge funds, private credit, and opportunistic investments. Walvoord provides a comprehensive framework for allocators navigating the critical challenge of assessing AI implementations in investment strategies, emphasizing that allocators don't need machine learning expertise to effectively evaluate AI claims. The conversation reveals practical methods for distinguishing substance from hype, identifying red flags, and conducting thorough due diligence on AI-enhanced strategies in an increasingly complex technological landscape.

In This Episode:

(00:30) Introduction of Chris Walvoord, former Global Head at AON

(01:15) Hypothetical systematic global macro manager using AI enhancement claims

(04:13) Beyond buzzwords: requiring specificity in AI tool explanations

(05:18) Talent requirements: specialized skills beyond traditional finance backgrounds

(09:41) Data importance: sources, curation, and quality assurance processes

(14:35) AI model types and techniques: understanding specific approaches

(18:45) Testing and validation: building robust models for commercial deployment

(25:10) Red flags in AI due diligence and governance frameworks

Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested!

Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators.

As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.

Resources:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-walvoord/
https...

• (00:00:00) - Due Dilution In Minutes
• (00:01:07) - Institutional Edge: On AI & Due Dilution
• (00:02:54) - Should I Buy AI-based Funds?
• (00:09:02) - Looking for Talent in Machine Learning
• (00:11:03) - Quantum Data and the Investment Model
• (00:12:31) - Quality assurance in the data
• (00:15:31) - The Art of Due Dilution
• (00:22:52) - Can You Override the Model?
• (00:26:17) - How do you know you didn't overfit?
• (00:27:31) - AI Due Dilution: Red Flags
• (00:31:56) - The Worst Asset Based Loan Pitch
• (00:35:45) - DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only

What methodological breakthrough is helping institutional investors solve the AI-ESG paradox?

This week, host Angelo Calvello interviews Dr. Liming Zhu, Research Director at CSIRO's Data61 and a leading voice in responsible AI development. Dr. Zhu reveals why traditional ESG metrics fall short when measuring AI's complex impacts, from the staggering energy consumption of model training (equivalent to 350,000 households annually for early ChatGPT) to nuanced second-order effects across stakeholder groups. The conversation explores how AI's diverse applications resist standardized assessment, requiring sophisticated frameworks that capture both immediate environmental costs and long-term societal implications. Dr. Zhu presents the practical assessment methodology he developed with CSIRO colleagues, offering asset owners a pathway through the measurement complexity that defines modern AI investing.

In This Episode:
(00:00) Introduction to AI's environmental impact and energy consumption
(02:00) Carbon footprint breakdown: training versus usage phases
(05:08) Energy sources and renewable scheduling for AI operations
(09:22) Grid stress and national energy infrastructure challenges
(10:57) Resource utilization efficiency and baseline comparisons
(14:39) Water usage for cooling and community impact concerns
(19:38) Human labor implications and global south workforce
(26:49) AI's potential to solve climate problems and accelerate science

Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who might be interested!

Dr. Angelo Calvello is a serial innovator and co-founder of multiple investment firms, including Rosetta Analytics and Blue Diamond Asset Management. He leverages his extensive professional network and reputation for authentic thought leadership to curate conversations with genuinely innovative allocators.

As the "Dissident" columnist for Institutional Investor and former "Doctor Is In" columnist for Chief Investment Officer (winner of the 2016 Jesse H. Neal Award), Calvello has become a leading voice challenging conventional investment wisdom.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Calvello serves as Chairman of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System's Climate Advisory Panel, Chairman of the Board of Outreach with Lacrosse and Schools (OWLS Lacrosse), a nonprofit organization creating opportunities for at-risk youths in Chicago, and trustee for a Chicago-area police pension fund. His career-long focus on leveraging innovation to deliver superior client outcomes makes him the ideal host for cutting-edge institutional investing conversations.

Resources:
Dr. Zhu's Bio: https://liming-zhu.org/about-me

Dr. Zhu's research related to the episode:

The framework:

• (00:00:00) - The environmental and social implications of AI
• (00:01:44) - What is the environmental impact of AI?
• (00:02:53) - AI Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• (00:10:01) - Can AI Data Centers Distress the Energy Grid?
• (00:11:22) - An Impact of AI on the Environment
• (00:14:52) - Data centers and ESG
• (00:18:06) - Can AI Reduce Water Use?
• (00:19:59) - Will AI Have Any Impact on Human Labor?
• (00:27:10) - A New Paradigm for Science
• (00:29:51) - The Intersection of AI Risk Management and ESG
• (00:32:38) - Amino: The Future of AI