Markets have been driven up by excitement around the transformational power of artificial intelligence (AI), but Fidelity’s latest Advisor Survey paints a less exuberant picture.
Some 72% of the 112 analysts it surveyed said they expect AI to have no impact on the profitability of their companies over the next 12 months.
And of the 26% who did forecast positive effects, more than half of them (55%) said it was among the minority of companies they cover.
Viral Patel, director of research at Fidelity International, said: “The word from our analysts is: don’t get too excited. At least, not yet.”
One such analyst, Evan Delaney from Fidelity Canada, noted that “AI remains more of a buzz word than a profit driver at the moment.”
Yet this lack of impact hasn’t stopped companies from spending on AI. More than half (62%) of those surveyed said they expect their companies to ‘materially increase’ their AI spending over the coming year.
The sectors expected to spend the most are technology (91%), financials (87%) and communication services (86%).
Patel said: “The AI hype has been one of the big drivers of the surge in technology shares over the past 12 months and a failure of the sector’s next big thing to live up to its vaunted promises would weaken the case for further gains. For now, however, there seems to be juice left in the tech orange.”
This article first appeared in our sister publication, Portfolio Adviser.
