The new venture will be spearheaded by former Pictet duo Chris Ford and Tim Day, who currently co-manage the £63m Smith & Williamson North American Equity fund and Mid-Ocean World Investment vehicle in 2015.
AI has become a pervasive theme in the investment world, with a growing number of managers, including AllianzGI, attempting to get ahead of the disruptive technological curve, explained Ford.
He added: “The influence of AI will continue to grow and it will not be limited to one sector of the economy or to one global region.
“The Smith & Williamson Artificial Intelligence Fund will seek to fully capture this opportunity by gaining exposure to the companies around the world which derive significant competitive advantages from their superior ability to harness AI.”
The actively managed, high-conviction global equity fund, will be comprised of a concentrated portfolio of 30 to 35 stocks that derive most or all of their revenues and growth from AI, the firm said. Roughly half of its positions will be companies based outside the US.
It will also be unconstrained by a benchmark, attempting to capture the full extent of the AI revolution on the broader global economy, beyond subsets like robotics.
Smith & Williamson is taking things a step further by harnessing AI technology in the investment process itself.
“Embedding our own artificial intelligence into the Fund’s investment process is a demonstration of our conviction in AI’s utility and we are excited to leverage its power as we seek to identify the business models most successfully profiting from this transcendent technology,” said Ford.
The fund is due to launch in June, subject to regulatory approval.
