Asset allocators move from Excel to AI
Institutional investors are reworking investment processes as workflows migrate ‘from Excel to AI,’ forcing new scenario modeling, governance, and auditability requirements. That transition is reshaping how allocators evaluate tools and should change the inputs you use in PE/VC due diligence cases. (ai-cio.com)
Amy Resnick’s Chief Investment Officer piece (March 27, 2026) quotes Ashby Monk of Stanford’s Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing saying existing AI “doesn’t have a well‑governed decision environment,” and that institutions must formalize documentation and decision rules as AI becomes embedded in investment workflows. (ai-cio.com) The same AI‑CIO story cites OECD figures showing AI‑related venture funding totaled $258.7 billion in 2025—61% of global VC that year—and generative AI funding alone reached $35.3 billion (14% of AI VC) in 2025. (ai-cio.com) A Cerulli‑backed survey of 200 institutional investors in Q2 (reported by Institutional Investor) found just 12% already use AI inside investment offices while 58% are considering adoption and 23% are actively planning implementation, spurring startups such as Finpilot and Boosted.ai to build allocator‑focused platforms. (inv.institutionalinvestor.com) Regulatory pressure is already shaping governance expectations: the SEC hosted a financial‑industry AI roundtable on March 27, 2025, the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee advanced AI disclosure guidance in December 2025, and the UK FCA’s AI Update ties senior‑manager accountability to AI use in financial services. (natlawreview.com) Practical diligence workflows are shifting: ThirdBridge’s March 2026 guide documents AI accelerating PE diligence by structuring signals, Centrl reports that LPs now include manager AI usage, data‑privacy controls, and vendor oversight on diligence checklists, and allocator platforms say AI can automate 70–80% of standardized outputs and save 30–40 hours per report in manager monitoring. (thirdbridge.com) Consultancies and industry groups are prescribing model governance frameworks: Option One cites WEF projections that financial‑services AI spending will grow from $35 billion in 2023 to $97 billion by 2027 and lays out governance pillars, while the CFA Institute’s November 18, 2025 release emphasizes integrating AI pipelines with transparency, accountability and human oversight. (optiononetech.com)
