Tag: AI

Innovation at a turning point: How tokenisation, AI and new investor expectations are reshaping Asset Management

Posted on by Melanie Lopes

At Reseo, we know that not everyone has the time to listen to every podcast episode in full. That’s why, alongside each conversation in our State of the Art series, we publish a clear, concise written summary — capturing the most important ideas, themes and insights for readers across our industry.

In this edition, we distil the key messages from our conversation with John Allan, Head of Innovation and Operations at the Investment Association, about the forces redefining investment management today — from tokenisation and AI to fund modernisation, ESG data and the expectations of a new generation of investors.

Tokenisation Enters the Mainstream

 Tokenisation has long been discussed as a theoretical possibility, but the past year marked a decisive shift toward real adoption. Several tokenised funds have now launched in the UK, demonstrating that distributed ledger technology (DLT) can serve as the shareholder register for investment funds — a development the Investment Association refers to as investment fund tokenisation.

This momentum will accelerate further as the UK prepares to issue its first digital gilt, lending legitimacy to tokenised assets within capital markets and strengthening the bridge between government issuance and the buy side.

AI: Incremental Gains Today, Transformational Potential Tomorrow

AI now touches nearly every part of the investment value chain. The gains currently visible are incremental — automating tasks, improving accuracy, speeding up processes — but the longer-term potential is far more significant. Firms recognise they must experiment proactively, even as they navigate varying regulatory approaches across the EU, US and UK. The UK’s principles-based stance creates uncertainty but also offers the freedom needed to innovate.

ESG and the Data Challenge

While enthusiasm for ESG remains strong, inconsistent measurement frameworks and data reliability issues continue to challenge the industry. With multiple methodologies and definitions competing in the market, firms still struggle to translate ESG information into decision-useful insights. More standardisation is needed before ESG data can fully support long-term investment strategies.

The Rise of the Digital Investor

A generational shift is also reshaping innovation priorities. Digital-native investors expect immediacy, transparency and intuitive digital experiences, often comparing the ease of buying crypto with the friction of investing in regulated funds. To respond, the Investment Association’s Investment Fund 3.0 initiative aims to modernise fund structures by improving liquidity, accelerating settlement, removing paper and making fund interactions more intuitive.

Where Firms Should Focus Next

As innovation accelerates — from quantum technologies to satellite-derived data — firms must be selective about where they invest their resources. Successful organisations will treat innovation as a strategic pillar rather than an optional add-on, embedding technology awareness across the entire board rather than relying on a single specialist. They will allocate meaningful budget to experimentation, accept that some initiatives will fail, and learn quickly from those that succeed. And they will increasingly look beyond their own walls, partnering with fintechs and external innovators to solve operational challenges faster and more efficiently. In a landscape where the pace of change is accelerating, firms that adopt this mindset will be best positioned to navigate what comes next.

Click here to listen to the full recording regarding this article.

When Documents Can No Longer Be Trusted: Rebuilding AML/KYC in the Age of AI

Posted on by Melanie Lopes

In the latest episode of State of the Art, Reseo Co-Founders Pierre-Yves Rahari and Luuk Jacobs examine a challenge that is reshaping the foundations of financial crime prevention: the accelerating breakdown of trust in documents.

Across the investment industry, AML and KYC processes still rely heavily on documentation such as passports, certificates, corporate filings and identification records. Yet artificial intelligence is now making it possible to fabricate these documents with astonishing realism and at scale. As the lines between real and fake blur, the industry faces a fundamental question: what happens when the documents we have always relied on can no longer be trusted?

The Emerging Breakdown of Document Trust

AI now makes it possible to fabricate convincing corporate records, beneficial ownership structures, historic filings and identity documents, all with the appearance of legitimacy. What once required expertise and time is now achievable with readily available tools. The majority of companies remain genuine, but the small percentage of sophisticated falsifications represents a systemic vulnerability.

The implication is profound: Traditional document-driven verification no longer provides the assurance it once did. Email exchanges, PDFs and notarised copies aren’t inherently reliable when the underlying content can be artificially generated or manipulated at scale.

Why the Old Model No Longer Works

The challenge is not simply the documents themselves, but the process behind them. Most AML/KYC workflows remain dependent on information submitted by the investor, creating a single point of failure. Manual reviews are done; however, it is harder to distinguish between genuine documentation and high-quality AI-generated forgeries.

This makes a structural shift unavoidable. Verification must increasingly rely on independently sourced, authoritative data rather than investor-supplied documents. Corporate registries, supervisory bodies and tax authorities offer information tied to regulatory oversight and embedded governance, which provides more durable assurance than documents alone. While no single source is perfect, combining multiple trusted datasets makes falsification significantly harder to sustain.

AI as Part of the Solution

Although AI is a driver of the threat, it is also essential to the defence. Used responsibly, AI can compare information across jurisdictions, flag inconsistencies, detect anomalies in company structures and maintain continuously updated profiles of clients. This opens the door to perpetual compliance, a dynamic model that replaces the current cycle of onboarding followed by years-long gaps before the next review.

Corporate structures and ownership can change dramatically in months. AI-enabled monitoring of independently sourced data means AML/KYC no longer has to lag behind real-world developments.

The Case for Interoperability and Collective Defence

A further weakness in today’s environment is fragmentation. Administrators, transfer agents and asset managers each conduct their own AML/KYC checks, often without visibility into decisions made elsewhere. Fraudsters exploit these gaps.

The industry needs a more interconnected ecosystem, where systems are interoperable and trusted data can be exchanged securely, and through consent, remain GDPR compliant. This does not mean a single shared utility, but rather a collaborative architecture that allows risk signals and verified information to flow between platforms, reducing duplication and strengthening the collective defence against financial crime.

Learning From Other Sectors

Similar challenges have already been addressed in other industries, offering inspiration for financial services. In healthcare, AI models compare scans against thousands of other images to identify abnormalities. A technique that could be used to compare companies across peer groups to detect unusual patterns in structure or behaviour. In agriculture and food supply chains, tokenisation is used to trace products from origin to supermarket, creating tamper-resistant provenance records. The same principles could underpin future approaches to tracking corporate identity and document provenance in financial crime prevention, including their incorporation into blockchain-based systems.

These analogies highlight a broader truth: the technologies needed to rebuild trust already exist. The challenge lies in adapting them to an AML/KYC context.

What Firms Should Do Now

The evolving threat landscape requires boards and executive teams to take a more active stance. Protecting the firm from fraud, money laundering and regulatory exposure is not simply a matter of enhancing checklists. It demands a change in mindset and architecture.

Four priorities emerge clearly:

  1. Shift from document-driven to data-driven verification using independently sourced, authoritative information.
  2. Move toward perpetual compliance, replacing episodic reviews with continuous monitoring of client profiles.
  3. Digitise and simplify AML/KYC processes to reduce friction while strengthening defences.
  4. Collaborate across the ecosystem, developing a collective defence that prevents bad actors from exploiting gaps between firms.

The collapse of document trust is not an isolated threat; it is a systemic one. The firms that respond early with a modern data foundation, smarter technology and collaborative architectures will be best positioned to maintain trust in a world where fraud is increasingly automated.

Click here to listen to the full recording regarding this article.

When documents fail: The Tech revolution in AML

Posted on by Melanie Lopes

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Reseo State of Art. In our previous episode, we explored how regulation, technology, and trust are reshaping client onboarding and lifecycle management across the investment landscape.

In this new episode, Reseo Co-Founders Luuk Jacobs and Pierre-Yves Rahari examine the growing collapse of documentation trust and what the industry can do about it. They discuss the dual role of AI: a powerful enabler but also a potential accelerant for document falsification. Finally, they consider how the industry can strengthen its defences and safeguard itself against future fraud.

Guest
• Luuk Jacobs, Co-Founder, Reseo

Host
• Pierre-Yves Rahari, Co-Founder, Reseo

 Producer & Editor
• Melanie Lopes, Sales & Marketing Associate, Reseo

Thanks for listening to the Reseo State of the Art podcast – you can find us here and on Spotify.

New episode: Onboarding Under Pressure- KYC in the Age of Heightened AML

Posted on by Melanie Lopes

Welcome back to another episode of Reseo’s State of the Art podcast. In our previous episode, we explored financial crime and reflected on the implications of the forthcoming European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) for the investment industry.

In this conversation, we turn to client onboarding under growing regulatory pressure. Our guest, Heidi Gunkel, Managing Director and Head of Client Experience EMEA and APAC at RBC BlueBay, joins Pierre-Yves Rahari, Co-Founder at Reseo, to discuss how regulation, technology, and trust are reshaping onboarding and client lifecycle management across the investment landscape. Heidi also serves on the board of the Luxembourg ManCo at RBC BlueBay.

Together, they explore:

  • How firms are adapting onboarding workflows under heightened AML and KYC requirements.
  • The role of AI and intelligent automation in improving efficiency and reducing friction.
  • How client experience teams and boards can make strategic decisions that balance risk, compliance, and service quality.

 Guest
• Heidi Gunkel, Managing Director, Head of Client Experience EMEA & APAC, RBC BlueBay

Host
• Pierre-Yves Rahari, Co-Founder, Reseo

Producer & Editor
• Melanie Lopes, Sales & Marketing Associate, Reseo

Thanks for listening to the Reseo State of the Art podcast – you can find us here and on Spotify.

New podcast: How does innovation happen in the Investment Management industry?

Posted on by Eva Keogan

It’s December and we are pleased to share a new episode of the Reseo State of the Art podcast, and our final one of this year.

We are ending 2024 on a high note with an exciting conversation about innovation in the industry, which spans regulation, ESG, AI, and even Space.

Pierre Yves-Rahari is on hand to kick start the conversation, with his first set of questions: How do the best innovators in the industry operate? Do they create as individuals, or are they championed by corporations, or a combination of both? Is there any correlation with the funding model or talent pool available to innovators and what are the implications of for the future of innovation?

We are delighted to be joined once again by guests Mark Cummins, Professor of FinTech and a Principal Investigator within the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), and Dr James Bowden, Senior Lecturer in Financial Technology, who both hail from the University of Strathclyde.

Presenter
Pierre Yves-Rahari, Co-Founder and Director, A-Lab Solutions (Reseo)

Guests
Mark Cummins, Professor of FinTech and a Principal Investigator within the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), University of Strathclyde

Dr James Bowden, Senior Lecturer in Financial Technology, University of Strathclyde

Producers

Eva Keogan, Reseo

Melanie Lopes, Reseo

Enjoy listening and don’t forget to come back in the New Year when we go live with our 2025 schedule of discussions about the state of the industry.

Catch up on all our other episodes on Spotify and Apple podcasts.

New podcast: A History of Innovation in the Investment Management Industry

Posted on by Eva Keogan

Welcome to the new Reseo State of the Art podcast episode, History of Innovation in Investment Management. We are joined by guests and academics; Mark Cummins, Professor of FinTech and a Principal Investigator within the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), and Dr James Bowden, Senior Lecturer in Financial Technology, who both hail from the University of Strathclyde.

The nature of our conversation is expansive; we take a look at the history of innovation in Investment Management, to see how the past is connected to the present, and what this means for the future of the industry. Starting with the creation of mutual funds in the early 1900s, we discuss the evolution of investment products, the influence of technology, the impacts of regulation, data and advanced analytics. We are also looking at behavioural finance, globalisation, and the biggest challenges to innovation in the Investment Management industry today.

Listen to our podcast for a lively discussion and highly informed viewpoints.

Presenter
Pierre Yves-Rahari, Co-Founder and Director, A-Lab Solutions

Guests
Mark Cummins, Professor of FinTech and a Principal Investigator within the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), University of Strathclyde

Dr James Bowden, Senior Lecturer in Financial Technology, University of Strathclyde

Industry conferences: Innovation is also about taking a different perspective

Posted on by Pierre-Yves Rahari

I have just returned from a short Summer break. Disconnecting from my emails and app notifications, even for only a few days, has given me the space to look at a few things with a slightly different perspective. After all, this is the bedrock of new discoveries and the innovation we profess and encourage at Reseo. I am taking this approach to think about the Investment Management conferences I have attended this year and reflect on a nagging feeling that something is missing in the conversations held by and with my peers.

Secular and cyclical topics

On that basis, I perused through the agendas of several conferences and observed that most conversations in our industry evolve around two main pillars, one that I would call the industry “core” or secular concerns, and the other one, the more cyclical questions. “Core” or secular concerns include a review of the fundamentals affecting the industry; investment trends; product development; macroeconomic and geopolitical issues; and of course, the ongoing regulatory updates. On the other hand, cyclical questions – at least for the most recent conferences – include conversations about private markets (and “retailisation” of thereof) and alternative asset classes; anything and everything technology, innovation, blockchain and AI; and of course, anything ESG[1] (with a marked decrease in the volume of conversations on this topic lately). Besides these secular and cyclical topics, space is made for a few conversations on governance and leadership, and more sporadically on people and talent.

All these topics are interesting and relevant, but I can’t help but notice that most of our industry conferences are designed on the same model, bar a few exceptions. Which often leaves me with a feeling of déja-vu or repetition, despite the high professionalism of most events, and the fantastic learning and networking opportunity they offer.

My wish list

With that in mind, what innovation would I like to see in our industry conferences?

  • Diverse speakers: For once, I would very much promote a greater diversity in the pool of speakers. The pay-to-play model that now prevails in most industry conferences tends to favour established corporations and exclude smaller start-ups[2] from panel conversations. Established corporations offer extremely valuable insight from their experience, yet I firmly believe that the industry would strongly benefit from alternative, equally innovative voices which deserve to participate in the public debate.
  • Focus on people: Then, I would very much table more topics on people, talent and leadership, which includes looking at these questions not only within the organisations within our industry, but also from an external viewpoint. For example looking into the demographics and motivations of our investors; understanding the perspective of our stakeholders and so on.
  • Macro and systemic analysis: My bias is that understanding people and talent cannot be divorced from looking at the organisations within which they operate, and even further, from an examination of the macro systems within which our organisations operate. I would encourage more of these conversations within our industry conferences. These would offer more opportunities to compare and contrast our industry with others as well, and allow us to engage in more societal and sense-making conversations[3].

From an innovation perspective, I see great benefits in these gentle questioning of our industry, in contrast to the too often self-congratulatory tone of our conversations.

Call for action

What other topics or questions would you like addressed in our industry conferences? Please share your thoughts at reseo@reseo.global , which we will compile and publish in our next article.

 

 

[1] ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance

[2] With limited marketing budgets to participate in conferences

[3] CogX comes to mind, as a model of cross-systems conference

 

Game changing innovation in Investment Management today – lessons from the Paris Olympics

Posted on by Luuk Jacobs

With the Paris Olympics just behind us and the Paralympics still to come, much has been said already about how different the staging and infrastructure of the event were.

The opening ceremony gave us a taste of what was to come. Landmarks – from the Seine to the Eiffel Tower – were used to showcase Paris and other locations in an exciting and bold new light. Technology played a starring role too. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) deployed AI in a variety of ways including using it to safeguard against cyber abuse, to manage its energy management system and for new ways to identify talent.

This step change came about due to a distinct set of new criteria the games must now comply with. The new measures are social, environmental and economic, with fostering gender equality and legacy elements also playing a part. Hosts must now be more sustainable by using a maximum of existing and temporary venues.

These new constraints fostered rather than hindered innovation, making the Paris 2024 games a launchpad for a modern Olympics.

How does this relate to innovation in Investment Management? First, it is no secret our industry is highly regulated. We face the challenges of constraint and compliance as a result. Second, we should take a cue from the Olympics and not let these challenges hinder progress, they are an excellent catalyst for innovation.

Let’s define innovation. At Reseo, we believe innovation is the process of bringing about new ideas, methods, products, services, or solutions that have a significant positive impact and value. It involves transforming creative concepts into tangible outcomes that improve efficiency, and effectiveness, or address unmet needs. It is also about having an innovative mindset and bringing together diverse skills and thinking to create bold new solutions and industry firsts.

How can we foster the same behaviour, attitudes and outcomes in Investment Management?
When thinking about innovation, it is essential to look beyond technological advancements. Innovation encompasses many things from novel approaches to problem-solving, processes, organisational practices, to new business models and product development.

5 Key components of successful innovation 

Fantastic ideas take lots of work to bring into fruition. There are many stages, challenges and often setbacks, but we see successful innovation in organisations all the time and they all have these approaches in common:

  1. Innovation-led – the resources and infrastructure of a big company are not necessarily better than those of a bootstrapping start up. The size of the firm does not matter. Prioritising innovation as a key business objective does.
  2. Nurture – organisations, be they startups or large corporates, must foster a culture of innovation by keeping people motivated and rewarded.
  3. Diversity of thought – being open to all ideas from everyone, both inside and outside the organisation, engenders diverse thinking and better results. On top of this the organisation must implement and put this thinking into practice, listen to and gather feedback, adapt and then incorporate this into the innovation, or if necessary to pivot.
  4. Freedom to invent – innovation comes from testing, prototyping, and going back to the drawing board. Therefore understanding and managing the inherent key risks and uncertainties of innovation are important, but not to the level that it stifles progress.
  5. Acceleration – having the courage and commitment to drive the initial idea to a successful execution involves risk-taking, empowerment, agility and leading by example but it must also be timely. Innovation underpins competitive advantage but only if you keep ahead of the pack by being first to market.

 Innovation in focus 

When it comes to the focus of innovation, we always ask ourselves who is it for ultimately? Is it the end user, and who really benefits?The Investment Management industry has seen enormous innovation over the years. Fund Management tools have had a huge impact on how the analysis of investment opportunities and performance is being carried out – everybody wins.

The pandemic triggered significant innovation due to the constraints of lockdown. The in-person sales process was changed forever. Meetings with the market and clients over a coffee were replaced by automated digital tools, not just Zoom, Teams and the like, but also the analysis of investor preferences and their next likely step for investing in specific strategies. This ‘needs must’ scenario was a digital adoption learning curve for everyone.

We are now experiencing generational change where different needs drive demand for new solutions. The Investment Management industry has to meet the needs of Boomers who hold the biggest assets but are not seen as particularly tech savvy. The emerging digital natives are data hungry and want user friendly apps to manage their investment and to know everything about their investments too. There is no one-size fits all here.

Elsewhere, disruptors and trail blazers have changed the world we live in and have shown great innovation that our industry could emulate.

The travel agent has vanished from the high street with the advent of Airbnb, records and CDs have been largely replaced by Spotify, retailers by Amazon. Netflix has made DVDs obsolete, and so on.

This raises the question of disruption in our sector – and what if the IFA should soon disappear, and if so, how? What shape or form would this take?

Which leads me to my final point. Not all innovation is necessarily a plus for the ultimate client or the industry itself.
What then is the message for the Investment Industry when considering innovation? We think these are the two key questions to be raised:

  • Should innovation be focused on the benefit of the company or should the focus be on the benefit of the customer?
  • Is the focus of the innovation on reducing cost or on better service to the client;

Company and client focus are in our view not mutually exclusive here and innovation should benefit both parties. We also believe in keeping an eye on the future and the new innovations on offer. A constant appetite for entrepreneurialism and change will help protect against disruption in the financial sector too.

The industry must be open to turning constraint and compliance into a competitive advantage. This can lead to highly positive outcomes as we have seen with the Paris Olympics and among many of our peers.

 

News: Reseo e-Business ID solution launches into the Investment Management industry

Posted on by Eva Keogan

April 10, 2024: London-based investment technology startup A-Lab Solutions, today launches its ground breaking AI-enabled corporate investor centric Reseo e-Business ID solution (Reseo) into the market for the B2B Investment Management industry.

Initial rollout of Reseo is set to cover Luxembourg, Dublin, and UK -based funds and their global investors. As such, Reseo will support global distribution for UK, EMEA, LatAm, and Asia.

“Reseo is an industry first universal onboarding acceleration solution and we are delighted to launch into the market. Reseo sits between the Investor, Asset Manager, and Administrator, and is designed to work with existing onboarding platforms across the Investment Management industry. While Reseo acts as the universal travel adapter, seamlessly powering and accelerating onboarding, the Reseo e-Business ID, unique to each client, is the unique passport for funds.” said Pierre-Yves Rahari, Director and Co-Founder, A-Lab Solutions.

It is an accepted truth the industry spends too many hours on paper-based onboarding. Reseo is set to take the pain out of lengthy onboarding processes for the entire investment industry, by catapulting the process into the digital world.

“Reseo, significantly reduces risk while saving valuable time and money. There are many benefits, not least because it is available for industrywide use. We see existing onboarding as a significant yet overlooked challenge for the Investment Management industry and we solve the numerous issues with Reseo. We combat the messy paper headache with a digital solution accessed via an intuitive dashboard.” said Luuk Jacobs, Director and Co-Founder, A-Lab Solutions.

The elimination of paperwork saves time, money, and speeds up account opening times. The Reseo cloud-based solution leverages the latest AI technologies, and by doing so, reduces the document verification timeline from a matter of weeks to a matter of minutes.

To find out more about Reseo

Investment Management industry professionals wanting to contact Reseo to find out more or book a demo should get in contact here:

Pierre-Yves Rahari by phone: + 44 (0) 7454 006638 or by email: psrahari@reseo.global

Ends

About Reseo:

Reseo, the first product from the privately owned London-based startup A-Lab Solutions and, is set to catapult Investment Management servicing into the digital universe. A-Lab Solutions is built on the shared vision, mission, and values of its founders, team and Board of Directors.

A-Lab Solutions is united by trust, with diversity of thought at its core and dedicated to sustainable innovation.

Reseo is a trade mark of A-Lab Solutions Limited, registered in England and Wales.

Registered office: 40 Monkton Street, London SE1 4TX.

Registered company number: 10355088

Press Enquiries:

Eva Keogan

ekeogan@reseo.global

+44 0 7790 841538

 

The dream team: When the Investment Management industry and Regulators see eye-to-eye …

Posted on by Eva Keogan

Funds Congress, which took place in London on February 8, marked the opening of the conference season for the Investment Management industry in UK-Europe. Attendance was remarkable, especially during the live broadcast of Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart’s podcast, “The Rest Is Politics.” Congratulations to the organisers.

When introducing the two hosts, star broadcaster Kristy Wark referred to them as a “dream team” that managed to avoid being an “odd couple.” This drew genuine big laughs from the audience, but I couldn’t help but draw a parallel with a theme that was recurring during the conference: Investment Managers and Regulators are seeing eye-to-eye on a number of hot industry topics, and for once, complaints on a “regulatory tsunami” were quite muted. Instead, everyone was supportive of one another.

For example, there is a consensus across the continent that private assets will contribute significantly to the financing of the transition to a green economy. As a result, the industry is creatively creating products to attract retail investors towards this segment, which regulators are all supportive of. In our jargon – we like jargon in our industry[1] – this is called “retailisation of private assets.” Furthermore, there is a recognition that asset owners are increasingly scrutinising the ESG[2] credentials of asset managers, using the extensive sustainability data that the latter more and more willingly publish at the request of regulators. When an odd couple turns into a dream team …

But not all is perfect in dreamland. I rephrase. Work is still in progress. There was much discussion on the merits and benefits of digitalisation and AI for investors and the industry alike during the conference, yet, despite a few calls for caution on total reliance on machine intelligence, there was scarce mention of initiatives underway to regulate AI, on which the UK and Europe lead the conversations. It is maybe just a question of timing, as one regulator suggested, but I couldn’t help but notice the gap.

Why do these topics matter to us at Reseo? Because they touch on the core of our mission, which is to blend technology and investor-centric services to ensure continued financial trust while future-proofing the investment management industry for the digital generation. And for that to happen, we definitely need the industry and the regulators to see eye-to-eye.

Let’s hope for more and continued constructive debates in the course of this year.

And here’s to an encouraging start of the year for the industry.

PS – Please send me your favourite industry jargon, at psrahari@reseo.global. I will happily include it in my upcoming article.

 

 

[1] Industry jargon … this could be the topic of a full article in the future …

[2] ESG: Environmental, Social & Governance

Get in touch

We’d like to hear from you

Contact us

Join our mailing list

To receive news from Reseo

Subscribe
document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function () { alert("JS is running"); });