Longview Networks’ Systematic Equity Summit

Systematic equity investing has evolved significantly over the past five years, with advances in artificial intelligence, data and technology beginning to reshape both investment processes and institutional portfolios. This opening discussion will explore what has changed, whether AI has fundamentally altered the systematic investment landscape, and why systematic equity is increasingly becoming an asset allocation question rather than simply a matter of manager selection.

As the boundaries between active, passive and systematic investing become increasingly blurred, institutional investors are reassessing how these approaches should fit together within the equity portfolio. This session will consider whether traditional distinctions between investment styles remain useful, the extent to which systematic strategies may be replacing conventional active management, and how allocators should balance high-conviction active, systematic and index approaches. It will also ask whether truly ‘pure passive’ investing still exists.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming embedded in systematic investment processes, but its impact on long-term competitive advantage remains uncertain. This session will examine whether AI can genuinely improve alpha generation or is primarily making existing processes faster and more efficient. It will also consider what happens as AI tools become increasingly commoditised, whether proprietary data will become the key source of differentiation, which datasets are likely to matter most, and whether growing technological demands risk creating an arms race that favours only the largest managers.

As systematic strategies become more sophisticated and increasingly incorporate AI, institutional investors face new questions around transparency, due diligence and oversight. This session will explore how much transparency allocators should expect from managers, where due diligence should be focused, and how investment committees can effectively assess AI-enabled strategies. It will also consider how governance frameworks may need to evolve as these approaches become a larger part of institutional portfolios.

The closing debate will look ahead to how institutional equity portfolios could change over the next five years. Panellists will consider which allocation shifts are most likely, which widely held assumptions about equity investing may prove to be wrong, and the changes institutional investors should already be preparing for as systematic investing, AI and new portfolio construction approaches continue to develop.