CTRL SHFT – Sooner than you think, AI is transforming the investment industry

AI will continue to advance into investment advice and asset management. This raises pressing questions about trust, accountability and professional competence. With the conversation starter CTRL SHFT, DSI – together with professionals from the sector – maps out these issues. The document feeds into DSI’s Continuing Professional Education program and invites organisations to actively discuss AI and integrity within their own practice.

Figures from the 2024 CBS AI Monitor show that 37.4% of companies in financial services already use AI technologies – a sharp increase compared to 2023. Large firms are leading the way, but smaller organisations also feel the impact on their processes and client advice. These numbers underline the urgency for the sector to engage in dialogue on integrity, professional competence, and the responsible use of AI (CBS, 2025).

To explore this impact, DSI spoke with experts from across the financial sector. Their insights are summarised in the dialogue document CTRL SHFT, which describes three fundamental shifts: the playing field, the workplace, and client services. The document invites organisations to engage in conversation about AI and integrity and to reflect together on the consequences for professionals’ work.

One of the interviewed experts noted: “It takes effort to explain what AI does and where people encounter it – sometimes without even realising.” This highlights that AI is not just a technological challenge, but equally a human and organisational one.

Sooner than you think… three shifts reshaping the sector:

• AI is shifting the playing field – Sooner than you think, rules and technology become difficult to grasp. Do frameworks and transparency still offer guidance, or does AI risk becoming an uncontrollable force?
• AI is transforming the workplace – Sooner than you think, mastering traditional expertise is no longer enough. Working with AI – and questioning it critically – becomes essential. Who is truly keeping up?
• AI is reshaping client services – Sooner than you think, AI co-decides in every client advice. Efficient, yet raising questions of integrity and accountability. How do we keep humans in the loop?

What’s next?

CTRL SHFT is not an endpoint, but an invitation to dialogue. The document is used in DSI’s Continuing Professional Education program and helps organisations understand the impact of AI on integrity and professional standards.

Want to know more or get in touch with the initiators? Download the report at www.dsi.nl/en/ai-in-the-investment-industry or contact DSI directly.