Predictions for Wall Street technology in 2050

by Matt Ober, General Partner at Social Leverage

I have been thinking a lot lately about where technology is going for investors over the next 20+ years. We are investing at Social Leverage out of our Fund IV and continuing to see some innovative ideas from founders with great work experience. So here are my predictions for what we will see by 2050:

We will see hedge funds with a PM and all AI analysts managing over $5B. The PM will have an AI analyst who is trained for each sector. An industrials AI, consumer AI, TMT AI, healthcare AI, and macro AI. The PM will also have an AI trader using the latest in algos for execution. With the explosion of data and AI capabilities this is an easy one to predict. Companies like Finchat.io, which we invested in, are pushing the envelope with enterprise research solutions using AI—and we are so early.

Goodbye Excel & PowerPoint. No-brainer prediction. I thought in the past that Excel skills would be replaced by Python skills, but, in reality, modeling and PowerPoint creation will be handled by the AI analysts. We already see the capabilities of AI for creating PowerPoint decks and simple modeling in Excel. This will only get better.

Analysts and traders will no longer have 3+ screens. Apple showed us what v1 of the Vision Pro looks like, and in 20 years everyone will be using some sort of AR/VR goggles rather than having 3+ screens to watch the market. Does Apple win? In some sense yes, but they always have had a hard time breaking into Wall Street firms. I imagine Microsoft will have an offering and everyone will ditch the screens for goggles.

The role of the professional investor will change dramatically. Hours that are spent on research will be reduced by summarization capabilities and better recommendation algos. For investors with long track records and research management systems, the ability for AI to recommend accurate investment opportunities will be jaw-dropping. The RMS winners will sit on a treasure trove of proprietary research, models, conversations, and information.

Raising capital will change. The allocators are going to start using AI more aggressively. I think this will not only allow allocators to find new emerging managers and analyze their thought processes, but it will also help speed up diligence, find red flags more quickly, and make the overall process smoother. Will the big powerhouses still raise the bulk of the capital? Probably—but they too will be using AI to make sure they are ready for the AI allocators.

The new generation of college graduates going into the investment world will work smarter. They will differentiate themselves by using the latest AI-driven tools. They will work faster and more efficiently. Will the CFA and CAIA matter? It depends on if they continue to change the curriculum and tools they teach. I predict we will see kids straight out of high school jumping into Wall Street jobs. These will be those who embrace the latest tools, become experts in the market at a younger age, and embrace disruption & technology.

Lastly, we will see at least three new data & information services powerhouses that are public companies. These companies will go on acquisition sprees buying unique data and will embrace AI and technology at every turn.

The future looks exciting. The changes coming to investing are going to be completely different than what we are used to.