“People are unstable beings. A situation they have never experienced can turn a loss of 1 billion won into 10 billion won. However, artificial intelligence (AI) is less likely to take such risks. All actions are performed within a scenario.”
Kim Hyung-sik, CEO of Qraft Technologies (Qraft), said on the 18th (local time) at Qraft’s Hong Kong office, “AI analyzes vast data in real time, finding subtle patterns in the market that people are unaware of.” Qraft has launched Asia’s first AI-based asset management platform.
The AI asset management platform is a finance-exclusive AI platform that helps in every process, from finding information on investment items to executing direct purchases. Unlike existing generative AI, it is specialized in financial information and identifies the tendencies and interests of the questioning investors, providing different answers even to the same question as a personalized AI agent.
Ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the Greater China region are very interested in the AI asset management platform. They want to manage their assets directly and hope their intentions will be reflected. Some asset owners may be particularly interested in the bio sector, while others want to invest in beauty.
As asset owners become smarter, the private banker (PB) faces challenges. Asset owners around the world frequently ask questions. Additionally, they may know more about specific fields than their PBs. The AI asset management platform Neuralfin AI serves to assist PBs. The platform features an AI modeled after a PB that answers questions in real time. Qraft intends to supply this platform first to high-net-worth individuals and plans to make it available to individual investors in the future. The following is a Q&A with CEO Kim.
─I am curious about Qraft’s core business model.
“We focus on investment products and services that combine AI with financial expertise as our core business model. Specifically, we have listed AI-managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the New York Stock Exchange, and we generate revenue through providing portfolio signals to financial institutions and large language model (LLM) engines. In particular, one of the AI ETFs utilizing Qraft’s technology, QRFT, has recorded a cumulative return of approximately 136.9% as of the end of May this year since its listing in 2019.”
─While there is a high demand for utilizing AI in the finance sector, it is not easy to actually integrate AI into finance where reliability and stability are crucial.
“I am not sure how much AI will advance in the future, but due to such concerns, the AI used in the finance sector will ultimately require human intervention or verification at least once. However, financial AI is becoming increasingly sophisticated and trustworthy, and the frequency and duration of human verification have already diminished significantly. In the future, this process will likely decrease further.”
─What strengths does Neuralfin AI have over human PBs?
“AI does not sleep. It does not require personal time. Therefore, it can analyze the client’s financial history, portfolio changes, and market trends in real time and suggest personalized investment strategies and asset reallocations. While PBs provided services limited to offline, Neuralfin extends this to a digital space, so clients are not constrained by time or location. In other words, it will elevate the existing asset management services to a more sophisticated level.”
─How has Qraft’s AI technology been applied to Neuralfin AI?
“Qraft’s AI technology acts as the brain of Neuralfin AI. The deep learning algorithms that Qraft has researched are deployed on the platform to analyze vast market data in real time, deriving optimized portfolio strategies for each client. For example, the AI continuously learns the asset composition of each client account and market conditions, automatically suggesting portfolio reallocations or risk management measures as market changes occur. Notably, Qraft’s large language model (LLM) technology is integrated into Neuralfin AI, allowing clients to interact with the AI using natural language, receiving intelligent consulting services such as summaries of investment reports and Q&A in real time.”
─I have heard that the demand for AI PB is very high among high-net-worth individuals.
“It is a tool that can scientifically and swiftly solve complex asset management problems for wealthy individuals. Wealthy asset management involves a wide variety of investment targets and risk factors that are very diverse and complicated. AI can analyze vast financial data, news, and market indicators in real time, which human experts cannot digest individually, and discover subtle insights within them. This dramatically increases the accuracy and speed of investment decision-making.”
─Is it a platform that is in demand only among the wealthy?
“Not at all. AI PB also has significant innovations in terms of personalization. AI can continuously update customized solutions that comprehensively consider each asset owner’s investment tendencies, liquidity needs, tax issues, and real estate. Currently, it is primarily applied to high-net-worth individuals, but in the medium to long term, it could expand into AI asset management services available for individual retail investors.
We plan to evolve into a public service where anyone can easily set strategies that match their investment tendencies and AI suggests real-time asset reallocations or risk management. By automating and optimizing the asset management process, which previously relied on experience and intuition, more sophisticated and systematic wealth management becomes possible.”
─What will change the most if individual investors utilize such platforms?
“The LLM-based conversational AI advisory service fundamentally changes how financial data and insights are provided. Now, investors do not need to read financial reports or articles; they just need to ask the chatbot questions, and it summarizes the latest news on relevant stocks as well as the key points from reports. Additionally, AI can explain complex financial data or terms in an understandable way, as if conversing with a real PB. For example, if someone asks, “How has my portfolio performed this month?” the AI will summarize the strengths and weaknesses and suggest areas for improvement based on the recent market situation.”