This whitepaper presents the findings from a survey of 50 Asia-Pacific (Apac)-based buy-side firms, highlighting how investment managers are implementing artificial intelligence technology, application programming interfaces (APIs) and workflow automation tools to enhance their competitiveness across an increasingly data-driven investment landscape.
The results underscore the widespread adoption of AI across the region, with 72% of respondents already using the technology moderately, while only 2% do not currently use it and have no plans to change their stance. AI is most widely used to support firms’ research (68%) and market analysis (57%) functions, reflecting their need to interrogate large, diverse datasets to support faster, more informed decision-making.
The survey also highlights the growing importance of connectivity and integrated data infrastructure across the region. APIs are now a key component of buy-side tech stacks, with firms most commonly using them to support reporting functions (30%) and create custom dashboards (28%) that consolidate portfolio, risk and market data, driving real-time analytics, enhanced transparency and more efficient workflows.
Operational efficiency and automation also emerged as key priorities for respondents, with 66% focusing on enhancing workflow automation within their portfolio management and trading functions, while 34% identified portfolio and risk analytics as the area most in need of improved workflow efficiency. These findings reflect the industry’s push to reduce manual processes and allow front-office teams to focus on higher-value analytical and decision-making tasks.
Finally, the survey highlights the growing shift in investment allocations toward private markets, mirroring trends across US and European buy-side segments. Most respondents (52%) plan to increase their private markets exposure moderately, with private credit (42%) and private equity (38%) the most attractive asset classes. Together, these results illustrate an Apac buy-side industry increasingly driven by data-centric investment processes, technological integration and evolving asset allocation strategies.
Explore key survey findings, emerging tech trends and strategies shaping a range of business processes across the region.
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